White Sox ready to see what Carlos Rodon can do

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Carlos Rodon will make his first major league start Saturday night in the second half of the White Sox doubleheader against Cincinnati, and manager Robin Ventura doesn’t have any expectations — or limits — for the former No. 3 overall pick.

“We’re just gonna let him go,” Ventura said. “At that point, he’s still stretched out enough to get deep into the game and you’re hoping to get that. We’ll see what happens.”

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Rodon has thrown 60 and 63 pitches in his two extended relief outings with the White Sox this year, and threw 87 pitches in his two Triple-A starts prior to his promotion. It’s been the plan for a few days now to start Rodon Saturday, so he’s had plenty of time to prepare. The White Sox called up right-hander Chris Beck as their 26th player for the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

The 22-year-old left-hander will face veteran Jason Marquis, who made his major league debut in 2000 — when Rodon was just seven years old. Through 6 1/3 major league innings, Rodon has allowed two runs on nine hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

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Ventura thinks that previous experience spanning three major league games could help keep Rodon calm on what will be a chilly Saturday evening.

“You are just glad he’s up here and has already been around for a little while, whether it’s the relief appearance or not,” Ventura said. “That’s what he was brought up to do. So, the other thing is if we ended up in a spot like this, he could start for you. Everything has worked out in his favor that way.”

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