The Chicago White Sox played a very important game against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are not a good team but that series always seems to propel each team in the opposite direction. The White Sox have underperformed so far this season so getting it going against them is much needed.
They did just that on Tuesday night as they defeated them in a very close 3-1 ballgame. They were led by one of their best starting pitchers, Michael Kopech. He was outstanding for the conditions that he was given. It was cold, rainy, and windy and he still managed to give up 0 runs.
He only went 4.0 innings but there was no point in keeping him out there for much more than that. He had five strikeouts and gave up four hits. It wasn’t the best game of his career (the rain didn’t help) and he still gave up zero runs and lowered his ERA to 1.17.
Michael Kopech, when on his game, is actually the best pitcher on the White Sox staff but people aren’t ready for that conversation yet. He is truly magnificent and the Cubs hitters mostly had no answer for him. Right-handed batters, in particular, have had no success whatsoever.
The Chicago White Sox earned a much-needed victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The bullpen came in and only allowed one run over the rest of the game (5.0 innings). A team effort of Reynaldo Lopez, Jose Ruiz, Aaron Bummer, Matt Foster, and Liam Hendriks got the job done to support their starter.
The White Sox also mustered up three runs in the bad conditions to get the win. The most impressive run-scorer of the night was Tim Anderson who somehow smashed a ball over the fence. That was a solo shot that gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead.
It is no joke when you talk about how annoyingly bad the weather was. For an early May day, that could be considered miserable and Tim still managed to push a ball out. It was really impressive and proved once again how impressive he is as a hitter. The White Sox needs more of that from everyone that follows him in the order.
Luis Robert was on the bench for this one. Tony La Russa felt the need to give him some rest following a remarkable three-hit game on Monday. It proved to not matter in the end but it was a strange decision nonetheless. Kopech did his job and the bullpen followed.
Now, the White Sox have a chance to sweep the two-game set with the Cubs on Tuesday. Lucas Giolito is going to be on the mound for the White Sox and he will face Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs. It should be a very fun pitching matchup as both teams really need the win here.