With five pitchers out the door and maybe more to follow by Tuesday’s trade deadline, Michael Kopech might be one of the few names you can write in pen for the 2024 White Sox (43-64).
But after a 5-0 loss to the Guardians Sunday, the 27-year-old right-hander is frustrated and scuffling, with a 6.61 ERA in four outings since the All-Star break.
“Pretty pathetic,” Kopech (4-10) said after issuing five walks in five innings. In 16 1/3 innings since the break, Kopech has walked 14, and allowed seven homers.
“I was backing up a lot of sliders. Shooting a lot of changeups. Rely on my fastball as my go-to pitch and unfortunately they have that report on the other side too. So I’m trying to get back in the zone with my fastball and they were ready for one.”
After losing the zone for four walks in the second inning, Kopech leaned heavily on his fastball for strikes as a remedy, even on a day where his velocity was diminished enough to prompt a brief trainer visit. As a result, he found Steven Kwan and José Ramírez sitting on the pitch in fifth, when both Guardians hitters pulled homers to Guaranteed Rate Field’s inviting right field porch.
“It’s been a developmental year,” said pitching coach Ethan Katz. “There’s things that pop up every single day that you can learn from, and there’s a lot of steps that he is learning from. His routine’s gotten better and better. The way he goes about his business is better.”
After seeing Kopech’s potential shine with a strong stretch in late May, manager Pedro Grifol wants him going about his business with less frustration.
Said Grifol: “We’ve all seen him go out there and just have a lot of fun and be electric. So we’ve got to get him to that point. He’s an important piece moving forward.”
TA back at leadoff
After giving Tim Anderson his first start in the leadoff spot in well over a month Saturday night, Grifol kept him there Sunday even as Andrew Benintendi returned to the lineup. It could be a long-term move, but Grifol termed it as more about Benintendi batting fifth, than rewarding Anderson for having 10 multi-hit games in July.
“I want to put him in a position where he can drive some runs in,” said Grifol. “He’s really good with runners in scoring position. I’m going to put him in the 5 hole for a little bit and see how that works. Benny doesn’t hit many ground balls, doesn’t strike out much. Got a knack for driving guys in.”
In keeping with how the team’s season has gone, Benintendi didn’t have an at-bat with runners in scoring position until the ninth inning when the Sox were down five runs, went 0-for-4, and his team was shut out with just four hits.
MLB debuts
Called up amid a trade deadline purge of Sox pitchers, righty relievers Declan Cronin and Edgar Navarro both made their big league debuts in Sunday’s loss.
“This is not something I did by myself,” Navarro said via interpreter after pitching a scoreless ninth. “My family also helped a lot throughout this process.”
“The day I was drafted, I don’t know if I even thought this was a reality,” said Cronin. “36th round pick, they don’t exist anymore.”
