The Chicago White Sox won their game on Friday by a final score of 2-0. The offense was putrid for the most part once again but that was masked enough to win thanks to the great pitching of the White Sox staff in this one.
Michael Kopech is the one who deserves the most credit as he had one of the very best starts of his career. He went out there and got back to being that strikeout machine that can make him one of the most effective pitchers in the league.
He went out there and threw 6.0 innings of elite baseball. He gave up no runs on no hits with three walks and eleven strikeouts. It was an incredible start. Unfortunately, Tony La Russa didn’t see a need to let Michael go out for the seventh despite only being at 85 pitches.
Kopech’s ERA is now down to 3.18. He isn’t that elite superstar yet because he has still had some shaky starts but he is getting close. You saw the exact same thing with Dylan Cease and look at him now. Kopech will be at that level (if not even better) in no time.
Michael Kopech was sensatinal for the Chicago White Sox on Friday evening.
Once Kopech came out, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman, and Liam Hendriks shut the door and the White Sox were able to win over the Tigers. They battle back and forth between .500, barely above, and barely below.
The White Sox needs to see more of this from Kopech as the year comes to a close. If Lucas Gioltio and Lance Lynn can consistently battle for the rest of the season while Kopech, Cease, and Johnny Cueto continue doing their thing, they could make a run to the postseason.
He has battled injuries early in his career but we are seeing just how good he is when he is healthy. All of that coming together over the next month or so as a starter can make him a very rich player one day. Constanly putting together starts like this would go a long way for him and his game. If the rest of the team can figure it out around him, it will be a lot of fun to watch.