The weather was quite lovely on Saturday night in Chicago. Nobody would blame you if you, the reader, decided to hang out with family or friends out on the town rather than watch this White Sox game. Tonight’s loss to Detroit was rather mundane.
Tarik Skubal pitched very well for the Tigers. There was a day not long ago that White Sox hitters feasted on starting left-handed pitchers, but that hasn’t been much the case in 2023. With a team OPS of .707 against left-handers, the White Sox hitters rank 24th in MLB.
So it might not be all that shocking to see Skubal striking out nine batters over five scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and a walk. White Sox offense wouldn’t show any signs of life until the eighth inning when Yasmani Grandal pinched hit for Korey Lee and doubled. Luis Robert Jr. would later drive in Grandal with an RBI single.
José Ureña, who pitched for Detroit in 2021, was starting tonight for the White Sox. Making his first start with the South Siders, Ureña was fine. On 75 pitches, Ureña lasted four innings, allowing just one run on four hits. Command was inconsistent for Ureña, and against a better lineup, the results might have been uglier.
But Ureña made the start because Chris Getz and Pedro Grifol decided to move Michael Kopech into the bullpen. He did make an appearance tonight in the seventh inning when the White Sox were down 2-0. First to face Kopech was Spencer Torkelson, and it was a nine-pitch battle with five fouled-off pitches. Eventually, Kopech won that at-bat as Torkelson grounded out back to the mound.
Against Kerry Carpenter, it was easier for Kopech as he dispatched the lefty slugger on four pitches for a strikeout. With two outs on 13 pitches, it looked like Kopech could be extended another inning if he could get Matt Vierling out.
Unfortunately for Kopech, his inside slider on a 3-2 count found Vierling’s barrel, resulting in a home run. Now down 3-0, Kopech compounds his problems by wildly missing with his four-seam fastball to walk Tyler Nevin. Eventually, Kopech found a way out by getting Parker Meadows to pop out to Tim Anderson. On 28 pitches, Kopech’s final line was 1 IP 1 H 1 ER 1 BB 1 K.
Tonight’s loss prevented the White Sox from winning three straight games, which they have since accomplished that feat a month ago.
Game Notes:
- Luis Robert Jr. now has 72 RBI’s on the season
- White Sox hitters struck out 15 times
- The White Sox elimination number is down to 1 game
