HOUSTON --There was a moment during the seventh inning of Houston’s 2-1, walkoff victory over the White Sox Friday night at Minute Maid Park where Carlos Rodón stood behind the mound and seemed to take a moment for himself.
Rodón had been brilliant all night, just as he has been throughout the 2021 season. But had runners on first and second with one out in a tie game with his pitch count sitting at 103. He had just walked Abraham Toro on a 3-2 pitch well out of the strike zone to set up this tenuous situation.
“I gathered,” Rodón said. “I just needed a second. Spraying four balls on arm side and it’s like, ‘All right, take a second here, slow it down and attack.’”
Three pitches later, following pitching coach Ethan Katz’s visit to the mound, Rodón was out of the jam and pumping his fist. Astros center fielder Myles Straw connected on a ground ball with a 95.2 mph exit velocity, but it was right at shortstop Tim Anderson, who started the inning-ending double play.
“I was just trying to attack. They made me work,” Rodón said. “I was pretty tired in the seventh and they said, ‘Can you get me one more?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ Luckily we got the ground-ball double play and the boys made the play.”
“It was his fastball that set up the slider,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “When you're throwing 97-98 [mph], you don't have a whole bunch of time to make up your mind if it's going to be straight or if it's going to be the slider. ... I mean, that guy -- I see why he threw a no-hitter. He’s got good stuff."
Rodón took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his last start Sunday against Detroit. After not getting what should have been a called third strike against Eric Haase, the Tigers' catcher doubled to left for Detroit’s first hit.
“His slider is so nasty that the umpires can’t even call it a strike,” said Dallas Keuchel of his rotation-mate. “That’s when you know you have a good thing going.”
Houston (41-28) had nothing going through their first 13 hitters Friday, before powerful left-handed hitter Yordan Alvarez rolled a single down the third-base line with an xBA of .060, per Statcast, to beat the shift. The Astros scored their lone run off Rodón in the fifth, as they loaded the bases with one out, before Rodón struck out Straw.
But he then walked the ninth hitter, Martín Maldonado, on four pitches to bring home a run. Jose Altuve worked the count full against Rodón before striking out swinging to end the inning.
“Just lost [the strike zone] there for a second,” catcher Zack Collins said. “It’s nothing to worry about. I wasn’t worried about it even in the middle of it. It happens sometimes, and we locked him back in there with Altuve.”
“He walks Maldonado and then the game should have blown up there, but he got Altuve,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “That's all you need to know about what type of pitcher and competitor he is. When he struck him out, I thought we'd win the game.”
In eight of his 12 starts this season, Rodón has worked at least five innings and allowed three or fewer hits. He fanned eight on the night, giving him 105 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings pitched.
Left fielder Andrew Vaughn left the game in the eighth with a facial contusion after being hit in the face by a one-hop throw from Astros right fielder Chas McCormick as he slid head-first into second base during his sixth-inning double. And the White Sox eventually lost their second straight to Houston, as Alvarez doubled home Yuli Gurriel against Garrett Crochet with one out in the ninth.
Minute Maid Park erupted as if it was a playoff victory, which sounds a bit cliché on June 18. But Rodón and the White Sox certainly felt that sort of atmosphere.
“That’s as close as you can get to a playoff atmosphere. It was fun to be out there and hear that, but it was a tough loss,” Rodón said. “They threw the ball well, we threw the ball well. 2-1 game, not much you can do. It’s an impressive offense.
“They swing the bat, they take pitches and make you work all night. It’s a tough team to face offensively.”