It’s been a while since I’ve made an appearance here on Sox on 35th, but I’m back and excited. I was equally as excited to bring you this postgame report today until I saw the lineup we were rolling out there and ultimately watched this snoozer of a game. The bats are still sleeping and our All-Star pitcher is a little tired as well.
Carlos Rodon took the mound and would have needed to be close to unhittable to give the Pale Hose a chance to come out of this four-game set with a split. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as he gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in just 4 innings on the mound. The offense was as dormant as you would’ve expected it to be when you saw the lineup, mustering just five hits in nine innings.
With the loss, the Sox fall to 60-43, still 8 games ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central, as they had the day off.
W: Carlos Hernandez (2-1) | L: Carlos Rodon (8-4)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Carlos Rodon: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 SO, 9 Swinging Strikes
Steve Stone referred to it as a “dead arm” and Rodon most likely needs a little rest to get it back to full strength. His velocity was down early and the Royals took advantage of it. Salvador Perez built on his game-tying homer from last night when he hit a two-run shot to center in the bottom of the first frame today.
Michael Taylor would follow suit with his own center blast the following inning. It was going to take a gem for Rodon to keep this lineup in it today, and he just didn’t have it. I would expect a spot start to give Carlos some extra time to rest.
With an eight-game lead in the division, the White Sox might be considering giving Rodon and Cease some time to rest up for the long haul. Rodon’s not hurt; rather, he’s likely tired. He hasn’t pitched over 100 innings in a season in quite some time.
Reynaldo Lopez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K
Since coming back, Lopez has provided some nice relief out of the pen. Today he did more of the same. He has now allowed 5 hits and just two earned runs in 11 innings with the White Sox this season. Not many bright spots from the team today, but he was one of them.
Rick Hahn: White Sox acquired Cesar Hernandez & Ryan Tepera
Adam Frazier? Nah.
Eduardo Escobar? Sorry, Sox fans.
Trevor Story? We tried, but those Rockies just didn’t want to play ball with reality.
Enter Cesar Hernandez and Ryan Tepera. While many shook their heads at the addition of Hernandez, including myself, look a little further and you will how he figures to be a welcome addition to the South Side. Hahn also pulled the trigger and called up the team just a few miles up north and brought in a quality arm in Ryan Tepera.
While it’s not clear that the White Sox are done adding at the deadline, they certainly made some good additions for the stretch run this season. Both Hernandez and Tepera will play key roles for the Sox in these next 2-3 months.
Next Game
Game one of a big three-game homestand with the Cleveland Indians starts tomorrow night. The game is set to kick off at 7:10 tomorrow on NBC Sports Chicago.
It is exhausting to say, to hear, and to read after every disappointing game that the White Sox are still (fill in the number) games ahead of Cleveland. The team has become lackadaisical and uninspired. The team needs a swift John McGraw style kick in the ass. As to the starters, Rodon and Cease have never played a full 162 game season. Lynn is a brawler but DK seems to have aged 5 years over the past 5 months. Like Lynn, Gio is a bulldog. TA, Jose, and Moncada have been just awful in the past 7 to 10 days.