Rodriguez piles up the Ks on return to mound

So much for any lingering concern about Eduardo Rodriguez’s right ankle.

He answered every question with a pile of Ks.

Rodriguez struck out 12 in 5 2/3 innings in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Boston Red Sox over the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Saturday.

“Best stuff of the season,” manager Alex Cora said of Rodriguez. “Location, mix of pitches, tempo, that was impressive.”

Rodriguez (12-3) allowed one run and three hits in his first major league appearance since he sprained his right ankle while covering first against Toronto on July 14. The lefthander retired his first 12 batters, striking out 10.

“All my pitches were right where I wanted,” he said. MILESTONE HIT FOR BELTRE >>> Adrian Beltre hit his 470th career homer, helping the Texas Rangers stop a five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Beltre’s homer leading off the fourth was the 39-year-old’s eighth of the season. And it was also hit No. 3,143 for his career, breaking a tie with Robin Yount for 17th on the career list. ONE-TWO PUNCH ENOUGH FOR YANKS >> Gleyber Torres and Masahiro Tanaka came through for the New York Yankees in a 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Torres hit a two-run homer — just one of two hits the Yanks mustered— and Tanaka pitched seven strong innings for his first win since July.

Torres hit his 22nd homer of the season and third since the start of the Yankees’ homestand Monday, a stretch over which he’s batting .526 with eight RBIs.

“He’s impacted our club in a profound way on both sides of the ball all year,” manager Aaron Boone said about Torres, a Rookie of the Year candidate