The Chicago White Sox again defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 for the second time in as many days. Michael Kopech got his second start of the season and impressed, which helped the Sox, at minimum, win the home series against the Rays. After a shaky first inning where Kopech issued two walks, the young righty settled down and ultimately only gave up one run in five innings, while striking out five.
However, it’s Sox CF Luis Robert’s go-ahead run in the sixth inning which put the Sox ahead, and the Pale Hose never looked back. Robert lead off the inning and reached first as a result of Rays SS Taylor Walls error misplaying Robert’s grounder. The Sox young AL MVP candidate then stole second and reached third after a long fly ball by Sox 1B Jose Abreu. Thanks to a drastic shift by the Rays infield, Sox DH Yasmani Grandal was able to single Robert home.
The Rays scored first in the game due to a lead off walk by Kopech to Rays 2B Brandon Lowe. Lowe ended up coming home three batters later thanks to an error by Sox 3B Josh Harrison. The White Sox would regain the lead in the 4th as a result of a two-run home run by 1B Jose Abreu off of Rays starter Corey Kluber. That lead would diminish after a single by Rays RF Manuel Margot hit in DH Wander Franco.
With the win, the White Sox are now 6-2 in 2022 and have won every series played so far. They go for the series sweep tomorrow.
W: Reynaldo Lopez (2-0) | L: Ryan Thompson (1-1) | S: Liam Hendricks (4)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Highlights:
Bottom 4th: Jose Abreu home run (1) to center field. Tim Anderson scores. 2-1 White Sox
Bottom 6th: Yasmani Grandal singles to left center. Luis Robert scores. 3-2 White Sox
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 R, 5 K, 2 BB
The burgeoning Ace-to-be excelled as the game went on. After a rough first inning where he issued two walks and no strikeouts, Michael Kopech issued 5 strike outs and no walks while also not giving up a hit. The righty mixed things up thanks to the use of his curveball and was able to dominate with his electric and speedy fastball. With Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito still on the IL, it’s nice that the Good Guys are able to solidly rely on Koepch every 5 days. He lowered his ERA to 1.00 on the season.
Jose Abreu: 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R
The former MVP and Rookie of the Year is struggling to start this season, but he put the Sox up early thanks to a towering home run he had in the second inning. Abreu also just missed a home run in the first inning as well.
Luis Robert: 0 for 4, SB, R
Luis Robert is a run manufacturing machine. When the Sox needed an extra run, he delivered. While Robert only reached base once, he made the Rays pay for it.
Jose Ruiz: 1.0 IP, 3 K, 0 BB
Last year, Jose Ruiz was mainly used in low-leverage situations when the White Sox were either down big or up big. Today, Ruiz was asked to maintain a 3-2 lead in the 7th inning- and maintain the lead he did. He struck out the bottom of the Rays order and looked unhittable doing so. The White Sox bullpen is already pretty formidable, but if Jose Ruiz is going to take a step forward this year, the Sox Arm Barn is going to be just filthy.
Other Game Highlights
Despite another shaky 9th inning, Liam Hendriks earns his 4th save on the year on a day where fans received a bobblehead of his likeness
Rays LF Randy Arozarena gets tossed after disagreeing with a called third strike
The Next Match Up
The White Sox are looking for a series sweep tomorrow afternoon. The White Sox are anticipating starting Vince Velasquez while the Rays will use JP Fereysian as an Opener.
The game will start at 1:10 pm CT and can be viewed on NBC Sports Chicago.
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