Carlos Rodon (!) pitches a no-hitter for the White Sox

Carlos Rodon

The White Sox non-tendered Carlos Rodon last offseason -- and rightfully so. He hadn't been healthy since 2016. And he hadn't really pitched well in those five years.

Many Sox fans, including me, assumed he would not be brought back for the 2021 season. And many Sox fans, including me, were skeptical when he returned on a one-year, $3 million prove-it deal.

But Rodon won a job as the No. 5 starter in spring training, beating Reynaldo Lopez out fair and square in an open competition. And now Rodon has put his name in Sox history books, as he pitched the 20th no-hitter in team history Wednesday night, beating the Cleveland Indians, 8-0.

Rodon retired the first 25 men he faced. He had a perfect game through 8.1 innings, and he lost the perfecto in a frustrating way -- he hit Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez on the foot with an 0-2 slider.

However, Rodon rallied to strike out Yu Chang, and then Jordan Luplow grounded out on a hot shot to third baseman Yoan Moncada to end the game.

When all was said and done, Rodon threw 114 pitches -- 75 for strikes -- and he struck out seven. He's 2-0 on the season, and he hasn't given up a run in 14 innings pitched. His fastball velocity is back. Rodon was throwing 99 mph in the ninth inning. Sure, the adrenaline had to be flowing, but we've seen that type of velocity from him in each of his first two games this season.

Could he finally be healthy? Let's hope.

And, oh yeah, the Sox roughed up Cleveland starter Zach Plesac, who has been a nemesis for them in the past. Plesac made three starts against the Sox in 2020, and had a 1.74 ERA over 20.2 innings pitched.

On this night, the Sox scored six runs against him, and knocked him out with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Moncada had an RBI single. Yermin Mercedes hit a three-run homer to start a three-hit night. Leury Garcia added an RBI double, and Nick Madrigal finished the six-run rally with an RBI single.

Rodon was given the luxury of a big lead from the very start, and he took advantage. Even though I've been a Rodon skeptic, it's impossible not to be happy for that guy. He's been through surgeries on his shoulder and elbow, and to get back to a point where he's able to pitch at a high level, that has to be very satisfying for him.

He proved a lot of people wrong, including me.

Jordan Luplow (who else?) sends the White Sox into second place

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The White Sox and Cleveland Indians were tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday.

There was one out, nobody on base, and Sox left-hander Gio Gonzalez was behind in the count, 3-0, to noted Sox killer and lefty masher Jordan Luplow.

I said to my girlfriend, "He better not lay one in here, because he's going to be swinging." Half a heartbeat after the words left my mouth, the Indians were 3-2 winners, and the Sox are in second place after their fourth consecutive loss.

Gonzalez tossed a 90.7 mph fastball over the heart of home plate. Luplow hit a no-doubter to left field. 

Why I knew he was swinging and the Sox did not, I'm not sure. Cleveland manager Terry Francona is not with the team because of health problems, but his influence remains -- Francona has always been a proponent of swinging at 3-0 pitches, dating back to his days in Boston. You have to be aware of that as an opponent.

And Gonzalez is just the sort of pitcher who keeps Luplow in the majors. Take a look at Luplow's career splits:

vs. LHP: .278/.384/.601

vs. RHP: .193/.278/.313

So, you're talking about nearly 400 points of OPS, .985 against lefties and .591 against righties. Eighteen of Luplow's 23 career homers have come against left-handed pitchers. That's a dangerous situation for Gonzalez, and being the veteran he is, he should have known better than to give in.

And, oh yeah, seven of those 23 home runs have come against the Sox. Both of Luplow's homers this year have come against Chicago. Enough of this guy, already.

It's too bad the Sox lost this one, because Lucas Giolito had a good outing. He worked six innings with 11 strikeouts and limited Cleveland to two runs. He came pretty close to matching Indians ace Shane Bieber, who gave up one run over five innings.

Garrett Crochet pitched on back-to-back days for the first time in his career, and he worked a spotless seventh inning with two strikeouts. Codi Heuer delivered a scoreless eighth, pitching around a Nick Madrigal error. I was impressed that Heuer was effective after pitching two innings in Tuesday's game.

These two rookie relievers have earned the right to pitch in high-leverage spots in the playoffs next week. That's the one positive we can pull from this stretch of bad ball that has seen the Sox drop five out of six and fall a half-game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.

Sox hitters were limited to four hits Wednesday. One was a triple by Yoan Moncada, who scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Abreu to tie the game at 2 in the eighth inning. But even with that triple, Moncada has two hits in his last 33 at-bats.

And Luis Robert is now 0-for-his-last-28 with 15 strikeouts. James McCann was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in this game. He is 6 for 37 with 15 strikeouts in September.

Cold bats all around.