White Sox hoping Rodon stays effective vs. Angels (Jul 24, 2018)
Carlos Rodon is coming off his best start in nearly two years, and the left-hander for the Chicago White Sox will try to stay on a roll when he faces the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night in the second game of the four-game series at Angel Stadium.
The White Sox (35-64) won the series opener 5-3 on Monday night, dropping the Angels (50-51) 10 1/2 games back of the second wild card in the American League.
Rodon threw 7 1/3 shutout innings July 11 against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, limiting them to three hits while striking out seven in the 4-0 victory.
Rodon (2-3, 3.56 ERA) pitched well enough to defeat the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on July 5, giving up two runs and five hits in six innings, but Houston scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 win.
"Some guys just show up and they're just great," Rodon told the Chicago Tribune after his last start. "(Chris) Sale, (Clayton) Kershaw, (Max) Scherzer, guys like that. Some other guys, it's a grind. It's going to be up and down. You're going to have some good days. You're going to have some bad days. You're going to take some lumps. You're going to give some lumps."
Rodon has delivered widely varying performances against the Angels in his career.
He made back-to-back starts against Los Angeles during his rookie season in 2015, holding them to a combined two runs over 15 innings.
The following season, he couldn't escape the first inning against the Angels in the shortest start of his career.
He battled shoulder problems throughout last season before opting for shoulder surgery in September. That kept him out the first two months of this season. He had a 4.55 ERA through his first five starts during the month of June but began regaining his form against the Astros.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria said a healthy Rodon gives the pitching staff much more depth and flexibility.
"You can put him in a better than average class, a top tier, 1-2-3 pitcher, championship-type caliber competitor," Renteria told the Tribune. "It opens up the door to us, potentially, having quite a few guys in the rotation in the near future who are able to give you what you need to compete."
Felix Pena has filled a desperate need for the Angels this season. They've had 10 pitchers go the disabled list, including five that elected for Tommy John surgery.
Pena (1-0, 3.42 ERA) appeared in 36 games as a reliever with the Cincinnati Reds the past two seasons. He came out of the bullpen his first two appearances with the Angels before making his first major league career start on June 19 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hasn't thrown more than 83 pitches or finished the sixth inning in any of his five starts but kept the score close.
The Angels welcomed back veteran Albert Pujols on Monday after he missed the past six games with knee inflammation. He went 1-for-4 in the series opener.
"It was needed, for sure," Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com. "Albert, he's amazing. This guy plays at 50 percent and does things that make you shake your head. He's such a gamer."
