White Sox 3, Tigers 1: Rodón the Destroyer Takes Control

Um ... yeah ... so like, Carlos Rodón is really good.

This shouldn’t be surprising, as he was the White Sox first pick in the 2014 draft and No. 3 overall, but his performance with the team since then has been turbulent. Rodón had numerous injuries that not only affected his time with the team but hurt his velocity, pitch location, and confidence, and when it comes to major league pitching, that’s not good. There was a reason the front office decided to part ways with him less than a year ago ... but there’s also a reason they quickly brought him back.

Rodón’s got the good stuff, the stuff that destroys the batter. The front office knew it, and now he finally knows it.

Rodón dominated the Detroit Tigers in the first game of today’s doubleheader. He threw six innings, with one earned run, and struck out a career-high 12 batters. He is now 4-0 on the season with an ERA of 0.72. He has given up seven hits in 25 innings, and has struck out 36 batters this season. It’s just ridiculously inspiring to see this man come back from a career that was almost done due to misunfortune.

Rodón must be running on an electric engine, because it seems like he’s never out of gas!

Liam Hendriks took over in the seventh inning to close it out. It was a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning for the “Southside Slidah” — although there were a few pitches that looked like meatballs. If the nightcap is in save territory, expect to see him again.

Chicago’s offense had plenty of opportunities early in the game to put the ball into play against Detroit starter Casey Mize. His dominant breaking pitch, the sinker, wasn’t sinking all that much in the first couple of innings. Unfortunately, Mize corrected course just as the White Sox recognized it.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning, Billy Hamilton scored Jake Lamb on a ground out to Miguel Cabrera. The next at-bat, Leury Garciía brought in Andrew Vaughn and Zack Collins on a sharp single to center. The Sox walked away from the game with only four hits and three walks total — doubles from both Yoán Moncada and Zack Collins that went uncashed, and singles from García and Lamb that didn’t.

Mize walked away with the loss for Detroit, whose offense was almost nonexistent. Jonathan Schoop drove in Robbie Grossman with a double to left in the top of the fourth inning; Schoop and Grossman were the only two recorded hits for the Tigers.

A quick and easy first game of a doubleheader was just what the doctor ordered. Rodón was truly magnificent, and certainly kept the game from being a snoozefest. Hopefully, the offense shows up for the nightcap.

The first pitch was scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CST, although a storm front is delaying the start of the game, which the club expects will be completed tonight. Sam Sherman will have your game coverage, and Jeremy Karll has your Six Pack of Stats.