White Sox extend winning streak to 5, but lose Carlos Rodon to injury

Carlos Rodon

Good news: The White Sox won their fifth consecutive game with a 6-4 victory over Milwaukee on Monday night.

The South Siders were trailing 4-2 after six innings, but they tied it when Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer on a 3-0 pitch from Corbin Burnes in the top of the seventh inning. The Sox went ahead 5-4 in the eighth when Leury Garcia scored on a wild pitch by David Phelps. Yoan Moncada homered in the ninth off Corey Knebel to make it 6-4, and Alex Colome got three outs in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Ross Detwiler went 1.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory, and the veteran lefty has now worked 8.1 scoreless innings to start the season.

Sounds good, right?

Too bad Sox starter Carlos Rodon got hurt to dampen the mood. The lefty lasted only two innings because of a shoulder problem. His velocity was noticeably down in the second inning, topping out at only 88-89 mph. We know that when Rodon is right, he can fire it up there in the mid-90s. That hasn't been happening, and now he's on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder soreness.

This will further test the Sox's starting pitching depth. With Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Jimmy Lambert all injured and unlikely to return anytime soon -- and with Michael Kopech opted out of the 2020 season -- options are diminishing.

Maybe Detwiler will be taking Rodon's place in the rotation. Or maybe Dane Dunning will be recalled. And, hey, the Sox signed veteran lefty Clayton Richard to a minor league deal the other day.

That's where the team is at right now with the starting pitching, and it isn't pretty.

With Rodon headed to the injured list, the team purchased the contract of right-hander Brady Lail from the Schaumburg training facility. Lail, 26, has pitched one game in the major leagues in his life, last season with the New York Yankees. He gave up three earned runs in 2.2 innings before being designated for assignment.

In other words, don't expect much.

To make room for Lail on the 40-man roster. the Sox designated outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe for assignment. This will not be a popular move with the prospect-loving wing of the Sox fan base.

Basabe is the much ballyhooed "third piece" of the Chris Sale trade (behind Moncada and Kopech), and at one point in time, he looked like he could be a contributor for the Sox -- at least as an extra outfielder.

The reality is Basabe is soon to be 24 years old, he's never played above Double-A ball, and he's a career .248 hitter in the minors with only 44 home runs in nearly 600 games. I have no idea whether he'll be claimed on waivers -- I'm guessing yes -- but if he is, I don't envision losing a lot of sleep over it.

I do think there are other guys I would have parted with first, but if we're being honest, Basabe has never been healthy or particularly good since joining the Sox organization.