CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox appear to have moved on to the tough-love stage when it comes to the development of talented starting pitcher Carlos Rodon.

When the first-round draft pick from last year started falling behind in counts early and letting his pitch total rise during Wednesday's outing against the Tampa Bay Rays, White Sox manager Robin Ventura decided that the bullpen would be a better option.

Despite being staked to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, Rodon was not allowed to pitch the required five innings for the victory, even though he still had the lead when he was removed. The White Sox eventually squandered the five-run lead but got a game-ending walk with the bases loaded from Avisail Garcia in the 10th inning to win it 6-5.

Not only did Rodon get sent to the showers after 4 2/3 innings of work, the first time the bullpen got to its feet was in the second inning. That move was as telling as anything.

"He was getting a little erratic," Ventura said, when asked why he removed his starter so early. "I think that's part of him going through walking a guy, getting behind in counts and things like that. Once we get that lead, you want to see a guy attacking the zone. Today, it just wasn't quite that, so we felt it was best to start using up the bullpen somewhat. It just seemed like one of those days to get him out of there."

Rodon has dealt with command issues all season. Blessed with a blazing fastball and an electric slider, the White Sox have been trying to round out his repertoire by having him throw a changeup, as well.

Results have been mixed as the North Carolina State product as struggled with walks and high pitch counts. But he has also breezed through lineups at times, with his most impressive start coming July 26 at Cleveland when he struck out nine, didn't walk a batter over 6 2/3 scoreless innings.

But in his previous start Friday against the New York Yankees he was back to walking four batters, and he needed 91 pitches, while recording only nine outs before he was removed.

He threw 81 pitches Wednesday (49 strikes) and in his final inning of work he hit Brandon Guyer with a pitch, got Joey Butler to ground into a double play, gave up a long home run to Evan Longoria and walked Logan Forsythe.

When Rodon left, the White Sox were leading 5-3. Forsythe would eventually score against reliever Matt Albers for the fourth run charged against the White Sox's starter.

"It's a decision that the manager has to make, and you go with that and what's best for the team," Rodon said about his removal. "I totally understand the circumstances and the outcome, and I agree with it. That's all you can do."

Rodon had just two walks, but even that was a glaring number given the fact that he started the second inning with a five-run lead and he was implored to just throw strikes and let his defense do the work.

"Yeah, there's definitely talk like that," Ventura said of in-game discussions with Rodon and pitching coach Don Cooper. "You have to be able to go out there and throw strike one and get that first guy out. Don't give them any free opportunities."

Rodon said he felt as if he was doing a solid job of throwing strikes.

"I felt I was throwing in the zone fine," said Rodon, whose ERA rose to 5.00, the highest it has been since his second outing of the year on April 29. "I'm glad we showed up with the bats today. It was a complete effort by the whole team."

Closer David Robertson pitched two crisp innings to get the victory, the type of efficient innings the White Sox hope to one day see out of Rodon.

"He looked pretty good out there," Robertson said of Rodon. "I felt like he kept his composure today. He got into a couple of situations that were tough. He pitched really well today. He pitched better and he's got electric stuff, so he's going to develop into something special, I believe.

"These games like this are going to build him up and get him ready for those years to come. We're hoping that every time he takes the ball he can give us that electric stuff like he did tonight. He's got room to improve, but he has time to do it."

As for that message sent by taking Rodon out of the game one out before he would have potentially earned a victory, Robertson wasn't about to touch that one.

"The manager has to do what the manager has to do," Robertson said. "Everybody on the team understands that. When he makes a decision, we're right behind him, and we'll do whatever he asks and go out there and play hard. You can't sit there and second-guess him, because that's not our job. We're just here to play."