Carlos Rodón entered his start against the Chicago Cubs feeling dangerous. His arm felt good after an extra couple of days of rest and facing the White Sox crosstown rival got his adrenaline going.

Strikeout Machine

Rodón opened his day by freezing Rafael Ortega with an 87 mph slider for a strikeout. It was his 150th punchout of the season. That strikeout opened the flood gates for K after K after K. He then blew a 99 mph fastball past Wilson Contrares followed by a 98 mph fastball to strike out David Bote. It became very apparent early that Carlos Rodón had his ace stuff working and, nobody was safe. Patrick Wisdom fell victim to a slider in the dirt while Ian Happ watched helplessly as a slider floated into the top of the strike zone. Rodón's blazing fastball was untouchable. Andrew Romine fanned at a 97 mph fastball then Ortega whiffed at a 98 mph heater. Five pitches ranged from 98.9 to 98.1 mph. "It was nice to get a few more days extra, and the velocity was there. It was good," said Rodón after the game. "My arm felt better with the little extra rest like we planned on. It just worked out." Rodon wasn't finished carving up the Cubs lineup. Wilson Contrareas opened the next inning by waving at a 99 mph four-seamer. Patrick Wisdom got fooled by a back door slider in the dirt, Happ swung and missed at a high heater and Romine went dirt farming after a slider. When the dust settled Carlos Rodón had thrown five scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and only two hits allowed. He fell just five strikeouts short of the White Sox single-game record. The NC State product recorded 19 swings and misses on the day. The only person that could stop Rodón on this day was himself. He was done in by his pitch count.

A Historic 2021 Campaign

But he was rewarded with his ninth victory and some impressive milestones to his name. Rodón passed Billy Pierce for the third-most career double-digit strikeout efforts by a left-handed pitcher in White Sox franchise history. Pierce has his number retired by the White Sox so he is in some pretty good company. The southpaw also tied Alex Fernandez for sixth among all Chicago White Sox pitchers in that regard. Rodón also tied the record for the most games in a season with 10 plus strikeouts and two or fewer hits allowed since 1901. He has five such games this season with plenty of time to tie the record. Only five other pitchers have accomplished this feat. Rodón is tied at five games with Rich Harden (2008), Hideo Nomo (1995), Gerrit Cole (2021). The only pitcher he trails is Justin Verlander (2019) with six games. While Rodón is trailing Verlander he has shattered the White Sox franchise record for most games in a season with 10 plus strikeouts and two or fewer hits allowed, by three games. Dylan Cease has two this season and is tied for second with Reynaldo Lopez (2019), and Chris Sale who accomplished the feat twice (2015 and 2014). Only two other pitchers have struck out 11 batters through five innings multiple times this season. Rodón has done it three times while Jacob deGrom and Aaron Nola have done it twice. On the season Rodón has 160 strikeouts and just 75 hits allowed. One of the White Sox newest members, Cesar Hernadez summed up what many Cubs hitters were probably thinking. "It wasn't comfortable for me when I had to face him when I was in Cleveland. I can tell you it was kind of a nightmare."