White Sox 8, Cleveland 0: A Carlos Rodón no-hitter

What's harder to believe: Carlos Rodón threw a no-hitter? Or that Carlos Rodón threw a no-hitter and it's just the slightest bit disappointing?

Rodón took a perfect game into the ninth before a 1-2 slider clipped Roberto Perez on the toe with one out. Rodón recovered to strike out Yu Chang on a generous inside corner from Doug Eddings, but the Perez blip brought White Sox nemesis Jordan Luplow to the plate one more time.

True to his billing, the lefty-killing Luplow made him work, as Rodón alternated strikes and balls over the first seven pitches. On the eighth, Luplow hit a hot shot to the left side, but it was right to Yoán Moncada, who fired across the diamond to seal the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history.

One inning in, the offense seemed like it would be the story. The White Sox took all the frustrations from Shane Bieber the night before and unloaded them on Zach Plesac, Amed Rosario slipped trying to plant on Adam Eaton's one-hopper to yield an infield single, and the floodgates slowly but surely gave way. Luis Robert singled, and after a José Abreu flyout, so did Yoán Moncada for the game's first run.

Two pitches later, Yermín Mercedes drove in three by himself with a Dan Ryan-threatening blast over the White Sox bullpen for a 4-0 lead. Yet while Zack Collins grounded out for the second out, Andrew Vaughn kept the inning alive with a double, Josh Naylor couldn't haul in Leury Garcia's warning track drive for another double, and Nick Madrigal chased him home with a single to cap the six-run first.

The Sox tacked on a couple more in the third courtesy of a Robert ground-rule double and a bases-loaded HBP of Moncada, and then the offense yielded the floor to Rodón.

Much like his first start, Rodón used fastball command to set the tone, with a velocity that gained steam over the course of the evening. Unlike his first start, he had his full complement of secondary pitches. The changeup was a presence early, the slider showed up later, and he even went 3-for-3 with strike-grabbing curveballs. Yet the fastball remained his meal ticket, getting 12 of his 19 swinging strikes and reaching 99 mph in the ninth.

The White Sox defense was tested a few times, and it didn't buckle. Yoán Moncada rounded off a ball behind third nicely in the fifth. Leury García made a slick pick on a hot Perez grounder in the sixth. Andrew Vaughn held his ground on a José Ramirez laser to end the seventh.

But the Sox didn't quite have a signature effort until the ninth, when José Abreu's lunging legs beat Josh Naylor's diving hand to the bag after Abreu fielded Naylor's slow topper. Naylor thought he beat Abreu after he was called out, but Abreu's right foot found the edge of the bag before Naylor's trailing hand arrived. His lead hand coasted right past the base on the foul side, and that didn't count.

Perfection remained intact until one more batter. Perez had hit two balls hard his first two times up, and Rodón tried to make sure he wouldn't get a third. Unfortuantely, he took the idea of a "back foot slider" a little too literally, and he had to settle for the no-no instead. After all he's been through, he'll take it.

Bullet points:

*Mercedes and Madrigal had three hits apiece.

*The White Sox went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

*Zack Collins was the only White Sox to go without a hit, but he did OK on the other side of the plate.

*The attendance was 7,148, and while the line is "40,000 people will say they were there," COVID restrictions might keep the exaggerations in check.

Record: 6-6 | Box score | Statcast