It figures, doesn't it?
With Michael Kopech making his major league debut, the White Sox had an extra 9,000 fans walk up to the ticket booth, and the crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field was fully engaged in the game for perhaps the first time since Opening Day.
The buzz died quickly, but not because Kopech did anything disappointing. He kept the Minnesota Twins off the board for two innings, striking out four men and pitching out of a first-inning jam.
But then the rains came, and after a 52-minute delay, Sox brass decided it was best not to send Kopech back to the mound.
Wise decision, in my opinion, but it sure stinks for the fans who bought tickets for that game. The Sox ended up losing, 5-2, after the Twins scored three runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
The other big Sox news from Tuesday? Jose Abreu had unexpected, outpatient surgery on his lower abdominal/groin area, and he will not be able to resume baseball activities for at least 10 days.
So, the best player on the club is headed to the disabled list, and the top pitching prospect had his highly anticipated debut cut short by circumstances beyond anyone's control.
Does this kind of stuff happen to other teams besides the Sox? Sometimes it sure feels as though we're the only fan base that has to tolerate this sort of thing, and it sure does stink.
But we'll keep watching, hoping for a speedy recovery for Abreu and an opportunity to see more of Kopech in his next start, likely Sunday afternoon at Detroit.
Roster moves
As mentioned, Abreu is on the disabled list, and infielder Jose Rondon has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take his place.
Rondon appeared in 22 games earlier this season with the Sox, hitting .245/.288./.490 with three doubles, three home runs and six RBIs in 52 plate appearances. He's been having a decent season at shortstop in Charlotte, where he was hitting .250/.290/.497 with 18 home runs, 15 doubles and 38 RBIs in 80 games.
The Sox on Tuesday also traded left-handed reliever Luis Avilan to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-handed pitcher Felix Paulino. Paulino will be assigned to Double-A Birmingham.
Right-handed reliever Ryan Burr has been called up from Charlotte to take Avilan's place on the 25-man roster.
Burr, 24, has a 4-3 record with a 2.45 ERA, two saves, a .190 opponent
batting average and 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings over 37 combined
appearances this season between Birmingham and Charlotte.
In his past 21 appearances -- 14 in Birmingham, seven in Charlotte -- Burr allowed only one run in 28.2 innings.
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