Wednesday night’s tilt versus the Cleveland Indians began as an offensive onslaught that was going to be hard to top, and Carlos Rodon did just that by making history with the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history.
After using a Moncada RBI single, a Yermin Mercedes 3-run homer, and RBIs from Nick Madrigal and Leury Garcia to grab an early 6-0 lead, the White Sox and Carlos Rodon settled in and created history. Rodon received more than a little help from his friends with some stellar defense in the field behind him, including a fantastic play from Leury Garcia at short in the 6th inning. Just a few innings later, Jose Abreu got in on the action and displayed some heroics on the defensive side as well with a terrific unassisted putout at first base that required a replay challenge to verify.
With the win, the White Sox moved to 6-6 and will look to take three of four games in this series this afternoon.
W: Carlos Rodon (1-0) | L: Zach Plesac (1-2)
Savant Leaders
Notable Performances
Carlos Rodon: 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K
Rodon was essentially perfect, and it was ultimately the tip of Roberto Perez’s toe that became the only thing that came between Rodon and perfection. Aside from the blank hit column on the Indian’s side, Rodon’s velocity was also catching eyes. After sitting 96 for the majority of the game, he bumped it up and hit the 99 MPH mark after going north of 100 pitches.
The 114-pitch performance was the 100th career major league appearance (including playoffs) for Rodon, and it’s undeniably the greatest of his career thus far.
Yermin Mercedes: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
Per usual, it was Yermin Mercedes that stole the show early, as he added onto a 1-0 first-inning lead with a moonshot that put the Sox up 4-0. His offense didn’t conclude there, however, as he added a couple of base hits to end the night with three. Mercedes is now 19-for-38 on the season.
Nick Madrigal: 3-for-4, R, RBI
Nick Madrigal quietly had a fantastic night during a game that proved to be history. He drove in a run on three hits and also crossed the plate once to help aid the Sox offensive onslaught.
Matchup of the Game
The matchup of tonight’s game was inevitably the one that had the entire stadium on its feet in the top of the ninth: Rodon versus Luplow with two outs in the top of the 9th, and a no-hitter on the line. Luplow, a fearsome bat to southpaw pitchers, took Rodon to a full count before grounding out to Yoan Moncada at 3rd and concluding the no-hitter.
With an expected batting average of .560 on that final out, it proves you always need just a *little* luck on your side when having a night like Rodon did.
Player of the Game
Carlos Rodon is undeniably tonight’s player of the game after a historical performance that places him safely in White Sox history with the 20th no-hitter in franchise history. Aside from his statistical performance, the obstacles overcame by Carlos in past years make the milestone that much more miraculous.
After overcoming two surgeries and a separate handful of injuries, Rodon has found himself on top of the baseball world, even if it’s just for the night.
Next Game
The White Sox will conclude their series with Cleveland this afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field at 1:10 PM CT. Lance Lynn (1-0) will look to follow up a historic performance by securing the series win as he’ll be opposed by Aaron Civale (2-0).
The game will be available on NBC Sports Chicago.
