USA Baseball alum Carlos Rodon falls short of 24th MLB perfect game, throws no-hitter

Carlos Rodon, a 28-year-old left-handed pitcher of the Chicago White Sox, threw the second no-hitter of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season, in an 8-0 shut-out win against the Cleveland Indians. It was the second no-hitter of the MLB season after Joe Musgrove threw the first in the history of the San Diego Padres on 9 April.

Rodon took a perfect game into the ninth inning. With one out and two strikes on the batter, he hit Roberto Perez on a leg.

Rodon recovered and completed his performance with the two final outs. He needed 114 pitches to go the distance and 75 of those were strikes.

There have been only 23 perfect games in the history of MLB, 21 under the modern rules. The last one was by Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners against the Tampa Bay Rays on 15 August 2012.

The White Sox selected Rodon out of North Carolina State University as their top draft pick, No. 3 overall, in 2014. He made his MLB debut in 2015.

He made the 2012 US Collegiate National Team and had a chance to play in Cuba, where his family originated.

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Rodon received the 2013 USA Baseball Richard W. Dick Case Player of the Year Award, which goes to an outstanding athlete who also exemplifies sportsmanship and love of the game.

Another notable USA Baseball alumnus to earn the award was WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2017 MVP Triston Casas, currently a top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization.