ST. PETERSBURG -- Chicago's Carlos Rodon had a rough time in his first rehab start Tuesday, but he felt fully healthy. The left-hander allowed five earned runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings for the White Sox Class A Advanced affiliate, Winston-Salem.
"Arm felt good. I felt strong," Rodon told reporters in Carolina. "It was good to get back out there and pitch again. It's been a little while, but it was fun to compete."
The left-hander, who has not pitched for Chicago in the regular season because of upper-biceps bursitis, struck out the side in the first but quickly unraveled in his first appearance since Spring Training, including giving up a home run. The former first-round pick in the 2014 Draft out of North Carolina State threw 71 pitches -- 43 for strikes -- and took the 6-3 loss to the Carolina Mudcats.
'"The goal was to get up to the fifth inning but they hit me around a little bit," Rodon said. "The goal today was to feel healthy, get up and down and work on command."
Rodon struck out six and walked two while maintaining a fastball velocity in the mid-90s. The White Sox have not given a timetable on when Rodon will return to the Major League club but have said that the pitcher would likely need at least four starts.
In his previous two seasons with Chicago, Rodon went a combined 18-16 with a 3.90 ERA in 54 appearances -- 51 starts -- while averaging just over a strikeout per inning.