The White Sox were unable to secure their first series win despite a strong showing from Michael Kopech.
The starting pitcher bounced back nicely after a rough first outing, throwing six quality innings that featured three walks, five strikeouts, and only two hits allowed. Kopech would surrender the game’s only run in the second when a sac fly from Pittsburgh’s Jack Suwinski plated Canaan Smith-Njigba, who reached on a triple.
As for the White Sox’s offense, there isn’t much to report. Gavin Sheets highlighted the team’s efforts with a three-hit performance but otherwise, Pittsburgh’s starter Johan Oviedo shined with five strikeouts in 6.2 innings thrown. Toss in some questionable calls and the bats were unable to capitalize in one of the team’s quietest games to date. The umpires weren’t the only ones to provide some controversy, however.
Benches cleared after Oneil Cruz injured himself in an awkward slide at the plate. The collision that left Pittsburgh’s shortstop with a fractured ankle resulted in both sides exchanging words before spilling out further onto the field. Despite the heated exchange, there were no ejections, and order was restored rather quickly.
With Sunday’s loss, the White Sox fall to 4-6 (.400) and sit 2.5 games behind first-place Minnesota.
W: Johan Oviedo (1-0) | L: Michael Kopech (0-2) | S: David Bednar (4)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech (SP): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Kopech’s rebound is the most important takeaway from today’s game. The starter looked sharp and sat consistently in the mid-to-upper-90s on his fastball. The White Sox will look for him to build off this in his next outing against the Baltimore Orioles later in the week.
Gavin Sheets (DH): 3-for-5, 2 2B, 1 R
Sheets accounted for half of the team’s hits with a trio of singles on Sunday afternoon.
Jimmy Lambert and Jake Diekman (RP): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Lambert and Diekman did something we haven’t seen much of this year – provide scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The duo threw 17 of their 27 pitches for strikes and kept the White Sox in this game late.
Next Game
The White Sox will travel to Minnesota and play the first of a three-game series against the Twins on Monday. Dylan Cease (1-0, 1.59 ERA) is scheduled to get the nod against Kenta Maeda (0-1, 1.80 ERA).
First pitch is an early one yet again, set for 1:10 p.m. CT
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