White Sox starting pitching dominates Yankees hitters on Sunday

The Chicago White Sox went up against a team that is slowly starting to become their nemesis in the New York Yankees this Sunday for a doubleheader.

It was a result of poor weather that took place Friday night which prevented them from playing that game.

The first game which started early in the afternoon, featured Johnny Cueto on the mound to start. Cueto had one other start this season so far. It was a solid one against the Kansas City Royals who are a much weaker team.

With the lineup behind him leaving some to question whether Cueto would get the run support he needed to earn the win, the White Sox went into this game hoping to pull out a victory.

The Chicago White Sox needed to see both of their starters pitch well on Sunday.

Cueto started the game off ok. He struck out Giancarlo Stanton but allowed a base hit to Aaron Judge and walked Anthony Rizzo. He did not allow a run, however, and was out of the first inning in short order.

In the second inning, he allowed a hit to start the inning then watched one go off his glove that went for an out. Cueto then picked off Isiah Kiner-Falefa at first base getting the second out of the inning. He struck out the final batter to close out the second frame.

In the third inning, Cueto managed to stop a potential base hit and throw a runner out at first. He did the same with the second batter. Cueto allowed a base hit to Judge but a pop-up on the next pitch drew an out. The score was still zero all at this point.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cueto threw his 43rd pitch. Stanton drove one high in the middle of the outfield which was caught for an out. Next, Josh Donaldson flew out while Cueto struck out Aaron Hicks for a 1-2-3 inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the first batter was thrown out at first base while the second batter flew out to Adam Engel. The third batter of the inning got an infield hit to get to first. Cueto took the fourth batter of the inning and set him up to get thrown out.

The sixth inning saw Cueto start off with 75 pitches and a 1-0 lead. Two pitches into the inning, a mound visit was called as something didn’t look right with Cueto. With it being so hot, Cueto took some fluids and went back to pitching.

He managed to get Aaron Judge out again. After Judge, the next batter walked. The third batter of the inning stuck out. The fourth batter popped out to the outfield and that ended the inning.

Somewhat surprisingly, Cueto started the bottom of the seventh inning and the first batter he faced hit the ball for a base hit. The second batter he faced whacked another base hit on a single. That was the final pitch of the game for Cueto as he was removed from the game.

Cueto pitched a good game and the scoreboard, as well as his stats, show this. He pitched a total of 95 pitches with 60 strikes. Joe Kelly got him out of that seventh inning jam so he had an ERA of 0.00, allowed six hits, and had five strikeouts.

He also walked two batters. Cueto has had a remarkable start to his season. He has made his case for being a part of the starting rotation when Lance Lynn returns and was the key factor in the White Sox’s 3-1 win on Sunday afternoon. It will be exciting to see what more he can do this season.

The second game of the evening featured Michael Kopech as the starter for the White Sox. Kopech began his start in the bottom of the first inning as the first batter lined out to right field. The next batter, Judge, was struck out. The third batter flew out in foul territory.

The second inning saw the first batter hit a grounder and was thrown out at first. The second batter struck out and the third batter flew out.

In the third inning, the first batter hit the ball into foul territory and it was caught for the out. The second batter flew out to center field and the ball was caught by Luis Robert for the out. The third batter was thrown out at first. Kopech was coming along great.

In the fourth inning, Kopech took the first batter and threw him out at first. The next batter flew out and then Rizzo flew out to Tim Anderson. Kopech made it out of the inning throwing just eight pitches.

In the fifth inning, Kopech struck Stanton out and another batter flew out into foul territory where it was caught by Gavin Sheets. The third batter of the inning lined out to third. To this point, Kopech had not allowed a runner on base.

In the sixth inning, the first batter grounded out. The second batter struck out and the third batter got the first hit of the game against Kopech. The fourth batter flew out leaving a runner on base. The score was zero all at that point.

Kopech started the bottom of the seventh and faced the toughest part of the Yankees order. He faced Judge first and struck him out. Next up, Rizzo flew out to Sheets to give Kopech his second out of the inning. Stanton, the third batter up, walked. Gleyber Torres came up next as Kopech stood at 81 pitches. Torres walked.

The next batter up came up as the bullpen began to stir. Kopech struck out the final batter of the inning. That would be Kopech’s final pitch of the game. He was relieved by Matt Foster in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Kopech had a very good game flirting with a perfect game. He threw a total of 92 pitches with 65 strikes in seven innings of work. He allowed one hit, two walks, and struck out six allowing no earned runs for an ERA of 0.

Both Cueto and Kopech had monster games for the White Sox and allowed them to win the series versus the Yankees. It was just the shot in the arm that the White Sox needed to help get them moving again in a winning direction.

The performance that both of them put on shows that the White Sox have quite an arsenal of pitchers and could be one of the best pitching teams in Major League Baseball. Look for even greater games out of Cueto and Kopech this season.