Rodon wild in debut as White Sox fall to Indians
An auspicious debut it was not.
Making his first major-league appearance with the White Sox Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, top pitching prospect Carlos Rodon seemed nervous and was wild in a 6-2 loss to the Indians.
"A little bit of butterflies," Rodon said.
"But it was fun to be out there, considering."
Rodon, who had his contract purchased from Class AAA Charlotte Monday, is beginning his career as a reliever but is still projected as a starting pitcher.
The 22-year-old left-hander entered the game in the sixth inning with Cleveland runners on first and third, and two outs.
"You've got to be ready," Rodon said.
The rookie walked left-hander Brandon Moss on four pitches to load the bases, and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn followed with a 2-run single to put the Indians in front 4-1.
"He's been in big spots before," Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in last June's draft.
"I think the adrenaline was running and you can't fault him for that. He was probably excited, overthrowing, and he was a little more erratic than we've seen him in the past."
Rodon allowed 2 more runs in the seventh inning while allowing another single and 2 walks.
In the eighth, Rodon gave up a one-run double to Raburn but Cleveland failed to score.
"I threw it all over the place and then found it," Rodon said.
"Maybe a little overthrowing, but no excuses. Flying open, not finishing … you have to finish a pitch."
Rodon's best pitch is the slider, but he mainly stuck with the fastball against the Indians.
"The slider wasn't there, I wasn't able to throw it for a strike," Rodon said. "It's something I'll work on and it'll get better."
Rodon came on in relief of starter Hector Noesi.
"You know you're probably getting him into the game," Ventura said.
"Hector's up there around 100 pitches, so he came in. He was pretty amped up and couldn't really get it the way he wanted to and place it. But he's up here for that reason, being able to come in and fill some innings."
Jose Abreu accounted for both White Sox runs. He hit a solo homer (No. 4) in the first inning off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco and added a run-scoring single in the eighth.