How about Carlos Rodon?
The big lefty continued his recent dominance on Wednesday afternoon with yet another gem.
Rodon pitched eight innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and only one walk. He added six strikeouts to the day’s total.
The only bump in Rodon’s long road came in the third inning. After giving up a walk and a double to start the inning, Rodon struck out Victor Reyes to begin a hopeful escape job. It appeared he had the next batter, Jeimer Candelario, struck out on a pitch that painted the outside corner, but Rodon didn’t get the call. He was visibly frustrated, as he should have been.
Candelario then got plunked, loading the bases for Jose Iglesias. The shortstop blooped an RBI single to center, cutting the lead at the time to 2-1. Nicholas Castellanos then drove in a pair with a single of his own to left field.
But Rodon settled down after that. Only two batters would reach against him the rest of the way.
His stuff looked good, too. I was a bit concerned in the first inning when his fastball had trouble getting into the 90s, but Rodon ramped it up after that. He hit 95 mph in the eighth inning, so any concerns about velocity vanished.
Rodon’s season numbers are pretty darn good (4-3, 2.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, .197 BAA). You just wonder when the Ricks might shut him down for the season.
The offense had another solid showing today. Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu broke a scoreless tie in the third on RBI singles. Abreu added two more to the RBI column on a two-run bomb in the fifth inning. His season total is at 73. It will take runners getting on base for Abreu to surpass 100 again this season.
Matt Davidson also launched a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
The Sox have always hit Jordan Zimmerman well, and it certainly continued today. Zimmerman finished his day giving up six earned runs on nine hits in just five innings.
The closer-less Sox made the ninth inning interesting. Jeanmar Gomez began the inning and could only get one out. He was charged two earned runs after Luis Avilan allowed an inherited runner to score. But Avilan buckled down and earned himself his second save of the season.
Off-field highlights include Tom Paciorek making farm noises during Jason Benetti’s farm report. Benetti could hardly get through the report because he was laughing so hard. I don’t think Steve Stone will be doing that anytime soon.
The Sox improve to 44-76, while the Tigers drop to 50-71. The Sox have an off-day tomorrow and will next be in action on Friday night at home agianst the Kansas City Royals.