Left-hander Carlos Rodon of the Chicago White Sox tossed the second no-hitter of the 2021 MLB season, just barely missing out on a perfect game Wednesday night in an 8-0 win over Cleveland.
“That was awesome. A whole team effort,” he told NBC Sports Chicago after the game. “I can’t believe it. I can’t.”
Rodon, who had his start pushed back two days because of a stomach bug, made the Cleveland hitters feel ill, inducing plenty of weak contact while striking out seven. But he lost the perfect game with one out in the ninth inning when he hit Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez in the foot.
Instead, Rodon had to settle for completing the no-hitter, which he did in striking out Yu Chang and getting Jordan Luplow out on a ground ball to third base for the final out.
Rodon was the third overall pick in the 2014 draft by the White Sox, but he’s battled injuries throughout his seven-year career.
He missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery in May 2019 and made only four appearances, pitching a total of 7⅔ innings.
The White Sox declined to offer him arbitration and allowed him to become a free agent, but brought him back on a one-year, $3 million contract with a chance to compete for a rotation spot in the spring.
He said the decision to return to Chicago was an easy one.
“I knew I was going to be on a winning team after being on those teams that scuffled a little bit in the beginning,” he said. “I just wanted to be here for the end of the rebuild. The winning…
