Oh that does sound like a bad can. I bet it stunk, too.
I haven’t tried to jar a canned sauce. I either make my sauce from scratch or use Carfagna’s pasta/marinara/Pomodoro sauce (comes in a jar - a little pricey but I don’t have to add anything to it).
It used to be I could only find it in Ohio, but it has finally made its way to Indiana.
I can up only the tomatoes and make the sauce fresh.
I never quite felt comfortable hot water bath canning already seasoned sauce and never felt like pressure canning it.’