It wasn’t the prettiest game all throughout, but the White Sox got to the Tigers’ bullpen late to pull of the comeback victory in today’s 4-2 victory over the Tigers. The win gave the Sox a series split and finished a 3-4 homestand with two crucial wins.
Michael Kopech got the start on the mound today, and once again, battled fastball ineffectiveness. He threw five straight fastballs out of the zone to start the game before giving up a two-run homer to Javier Baez that put the Tigers up 2-0 early. His fastball averaged about 92 mph, well below his season average. After the homer, however, he battled to throw 5.1 innings to get the White Sox deeper into this one with a chance to strike. He was followed by scoreless outings by Jimmy Lambert, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks that would allow the offense a chance to get the team back into it.
This is exactly what the White Sox would do, using an RBI single by Yoan Moncada in the fifth and a solo homer by Gavin Sheets in the sixth to tie the game at two. From there, the game turned for the White Sox in the bottom of the eighth with two outs. After flyouts from Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn to start the inning, Luis Robert lifted a lazy fly ball into left field that looked destined to end the inning. However, the usually sure-handed Robbie Grossman battled the wind and dropped the ball, Robert made it to second, and after an intentional walk to Jose Abreu, AJ Pollock delivered a pinch-hit single to give the Sox the lead. Eloy Jimenez would follow with an RBI single of his own, giving the team a crucial insurance run that gave Hendriks some breathing room in the ninth inning.
With the win, the White Sox improve to 41-43 ahead of yet another big series, a four-game set in Cleveland.
W: Kendall Graveman (3-1) | L: Michael Fulmer (2-3) | S: Liam Hendriks (17)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 5th: Yoan Moncada singles to CF. Leury Garcia scores. 2-1 Tigers
Bottom 6th: Gavin Sheets homers (7) to RF. 2-2 Tie
Bottom 8th: AJ Pollock singles to RF. Luis Robert scores. 3-2 White Sox
Bottom 8th: Eloy Jimenez singles to RF. Jose Abreu scores. 4-2 White Sox
Notable Performances
Michael Kopech: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Kopech continues to struggle with a decrease in fastball velocity, and whether it’s due to mechanics, his knee, or a “dead arm” period, we aren’t yet sure. However, he battled through five-plus innings today and looked a bit sharper after the Baez homered. Kopech’s ERA sits at 3.35 after today’s performance, and he will likely start one more game before some much-needed extended rest during the All-Star break.
Gavin Sheets: 2-for-3, HR (7), RBI, R
Gavin Sheets has been a completely different hitter since coming back from AAA earlier last month, becoming the left-handed power bat the White Sox have absolutely needed. His home run today tied the game at two, and it appears he will continue to be a force in the lineup.
Yoan Moncada: 1-for-4, RBI
Yoan Moncada didn’t have the biggest day at the plate, but he had four great at-bats at the plate, hitting the ball hard all four times. He did get one hit in the effort – an RBI single that got the Sox on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Today’s a day that hopefully shows some turnaround coming for Moncada.
The Next Matchup
The White Sox will head to Cleveland to start a stretch of eight games in seven days leading up to the All-Star break. They will start with Lance Lynn tomorrow night, who will face off against Cal Quantrill of the Guardians.
The game will start at 6:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
