Carlos Rodón was dealing on Wednesday afternoon. The southpaw was brilliant once again, throwing six innings with ten strikeouts and no walks. He only allowed a single hit. Unfortunately, that hit was a solo home run off the bat of Tommy Edman. That was the only offense the Cardinals would need as they shut out the White Sox 4-0.
His delivery looked effortless and the ball was humming out of his hand. He threw 63 of his 94 pitches for strikes. His slider was devastating as usual. He used it as a wideout pitch on the back foot to generate swings and misses. He was also able to drop it into the strike zone for backward Ks. Rodon practically undressed Sosa with a back-foot slider. His final pitch of the day was a struck-out Paul Goldschmidt and touched triple digits. If not for two hit batters, Rodon would not have had to pitch from the stretch all day.
In Rodón’s last two starts he has only allowed one run and three hits. He has also racked up 23 strikeouts and zero walks. The White Sox have lost each of those games.
The slider following the same path as the fastball for that long is absurd. How does anyone ever hit a baseball https://t.co/AQ8Z5wOcrV
— Kevin Sullivan (@KevinSullivan9) May 26, 2021
Carlos Rodón is the fourth pitcher in White Sox history to allow one run or less and one hit or less with no walks and 10-plus strikeouts over 6.0-plus inning pitched in a start.
White Sox Bats Silenced
Just like Rodon’s start in New York, the bats were silent. The White Sox were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 base runners on the afternoon.
Yermin Mercedes had the bases loaded twice and two men on base twice and went 0-4. He began chasing bad pitches which, was the cause of his unproductive afternoon. In the first inning, the White Sox loaded the bases with one out, thanks to a pair of walks and error by John Grant. Mercedes lined a ball to left field that was caught and, Adam Eaton was gunned down at the plate trying to score, resulting in an inning-ending double play.
In the third inning, the White Sox threatened again. Danny Mendick and Nick Madrigal each singled to lead off the inning. Adam Eaton bunted them into scoring position. With runners on second and third and only out, the White Sox failed to scratch a single run across. Yoan Moncada struck out, then Abreu walked to load the bases. But Mercedes popped out to Paul Goldschmidt to kill the rally.
With runners on second and third, Mercedes grounded into a force out to end the fifth inning. In the sixth, Andrew Vaughn reached third base with only one out in the inning. Leury Garcia killed the rally with a terrible at-bat that resulted in a strikeout. Then Danny Mendick popped out to Tommy Edman to end the inning.
The White Sox threatened again in the seventh with runners on first and second with one out. Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes went down swinging to smother that rally. The ninth inning was much of the same. Runners on second and third for Jose Abreu, and he struck out to end the game.
The heart of the order simply did not produce. Moncada, Abreu, and Mercedes were a combined 0-7, with four strikeouts and one double play with runners in scoring position.
Injury Scares
White Sox fans collectively held their breath when Micheal Kopech fell on the mound, following his final pitch of the seventh inning. He limped gingerly off the field and headed to the locker room. He is listed as day-to-day.
Adam Eaton also exited the game with hamstring tightness. He is listed as day-to-day as well.
Cardinals Hat Confiscated
While the Cardinals won the game they did lose a hat. Giovanny Gallegos trotted out of the bullpen in the seventh inning. It was a huge situation, two one in a run one game. Joe West spotted a substance on the bill of his hat and quickly snatched it. The hat was taken to the locker room and Gallegos was forced to change caps. Mike Shildt was not pleased and gave Joe West a piece of his mind. He was promptly ejected from the game.
