April 19--The White Sox recalled right-hander Erik Johnson from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday after using their bullpen to pitch 8 2/3 innings Monday night against the Angels.
The Sox were in need of an extra pitcher after left-hander Carlos Rodon gave up five earned runs in 1/3 inning and was pulled from the game. Sox relievers Jake Petricka, Zach Putnam and Dan Jennings each pitched at least two innings.
Johnson is a starter who has pitched in parts of three seasons with the Sox. After struggling in 2014, he had a comeback season at Charlotte in 2015, when he was named International League Most Valuable Pitcher. He then went 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA over six starts with the Sox late in the year.
Johnson was expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation in the spring, but he was sent to the minors early after trouble with fastball command. He has allowed five earned runs with three walks and 12 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings over two starts with Charlotte this year.
Rodon said Monday night his best bet moving forward was to forget about the outing, the shortest of his career.
"I had nine innings of baseball to think about it," Rodon said. "Tomorrow's a new day, and this team has got to win. We've got to get out of this losing streak and get this thing going again."
