In his last start before the All-Star break against St. Louis, Carlos Rodon was brilliant holding the Cardinals to just three hits over 7.1 innings while walking only two to seven strikeouts.
Tonight, Rodon took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, was able to get Mike Trout out, and kept the Angels scoreless for seven innings. After allowing a double to Ian Kinsler to lead the eighth inning, Rodon's night ended when he walked Kole Calhoun when Omar Narvaez couldn't frame an inside fastball well enough to be called a strike. Manager Rick Renteria lifted Rodon for Juan Minaya with runners on first and second, and that's when things got interesting.
David Fletcher roped a double down the left field line, his third double of this series, and the Angels were finally on the board. Then Minaya hit Andrelton Simmons with a pitch to load the bases for Mike Trout. Potential for disaster, Minaya walked Trout allowing Calhoun to score which ended Rodon's night. His final line was 7.2 innings 2 H 2 ER 3 BB 8 K (Season high), and in July over three starts, Rodon has pitched 21 innings allowing just four runs with 21 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Still, the threat was quite active with Justin Upton at the plate and following suit of last night's bullpen decision-making, Renteria lifted Minaya for Jeanmar Gomez. Just like last night, that move paid off as Gomez got Upton to pop out to Tim Anderson in shallow center field escaping the jam.
While the eighth inning required a big deep breath, the previous seven innings were a bit of a breeze for the Sox. While Rodon was on point, the offense was supportive in the third inning. Tim Anderson singled to right field and advanced to third base on Yoan Moncada's infield single. Then it was back-to-back walks to Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu to put the Sox ahead 1-0. Avisail Garcia followed it up with a sacrifice fly to plate Moncada, and it was a 2-0 lead after three.
In the sixth, there was an excellent opportunity to score multiple runs as Avi reached on an error by Ian Kinsler, and Omar Narvaez laced a single to left center field. Garcia beat out Trout's throw to third, and wisely, Narvaez advanced to second base on the throw. Prime position with runners on second and third with no outs, Matt Davidson hit a broken-bat grounder to Andrelton Simmons. For some reason, the contact play was on, and Simmons easily threw out Avi at home for the first out. That decision stung as Nicky Delmonico hit a fly ball to center for the second out, and it would have been deep enough for Avi to score. Alas, the White Sox played themselves as Tim Anderson flew out to left field and no runs were scored.
Next inning, Yoan Moncada decided to take another direction in scoring by hitting his 13th home run of 2018 by blasting a solo shot to put the Sox ahead, 3-0. Their lead would push to 4-0 when Matt Davidson doubled in the eighth and scored on Nicky Delmonico's single. Both players needed that moment of success especially with Eloy Jimenez forcing the issue down in Charlotte.
After the Angels scored their two runs in the eighth, it was up to Joakim Soria to close it out again. With one out, Kinsler singled to set the stage for Shohei Ohtani to tie the game with one swing. Instead, Ohtani made a loud out with a high fly ball to center. Soria ended the evening by freezing Luis Valbuena with a fastball on the outside corner to pick up his 16th save of the season, and the Sox won 4-2.
Game Notes:
- Jose Abreu continues his upswing getting on base twice with a single and a walk.
- Both Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada were 2-for-4. Moncada also walked.
- Andrelton Simmons broke up Rodon's no-hitter in the sixth with a single but was thrown out at first base. Adam Engel threw to third in hopes of getting David Fletcher out, but the tag was late from Yolmer Sanchez. Simmons was thinking of advancing to second base but got caught in the middle, stumbled, and Sanchez threw Simmons out at first base. Just your usual base hit single, and 8-5-3 caught stealing.
- The White Sox are now 3-2 after the All-Star break.
Record: 36-64 | Box Score
