White Sox waste a brilliant Carlos Rodon start for the second time in a week

Carlos Rodon

In his past two starts, White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon has pitched 12 innings. He's allowed only one run on three hits in those 12 innings, while striking out 23 and walking nobody.

And he didn't win either of those two games because his teammates stink.

On Wednesday, Rodon worked six innings of one-run ball against the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out 10 and allowed only one hit.

Unfortunately, that hit was a solo home run by Tommy Edman, who hit a poorly located Rodon changeup into the left-field seats. That gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. St. Louis tacked on three runs late against the Sox bullpen and went on to salvage the finale of the three-game series, 4-0.

The Sox left 13 runners on base and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. In particular, it was a bad day for Yermin Mercedes, who went 0 for 4. His first two times, he came to the plate with the bases loaded. His second two times, he came to the plate with runners at first and second.

You already know the Sox didn't score in this game, so it's plainly obvious how poorly Mercedes did in those RBI situations. The designated hitter is mired in a 2-for-25 slump.

Shortstop Tim Anderson didn't play Wednesday. He's in a 3-for-30 slump. Adam Eaton left Wednesday's game with a sore hamstring. He is batting .125 since April 27.

Also injured Wednesday ... Michael Kopech. He took a weird fall on the mound as he delivered his final pitch of a scoreless seventh inning. He is day-to-day with hamstring soreness, although honestly, it looked like Kopech wrenched his knee. Regardless, he's the best reliever the Sox have this year, so it would be a huge loss if he were to miss much time.

So, yeah, no good news at the old ballpark today. The only blessing is the Cleveland Indians also lost Wednesday, so the Sox maintain their 1.5-game lead in the AL Central for at least another day.

The Baltimore Orioles come to town next for a four-game series starting Thursday night. Good news: The Orioles are a lowly 17-32 this season. Bad news: They've lost nine in a row, which means they are due to win a couple. The odds of baseball say you can't win 'em all, but you also can't lose 'em all.