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| James Shields |
More on that later, but first, let's recap the weekend series against the Kansas City Royals, in which the Sox (46-77) won two games out of three.
Friday, Aug. 17
White Sox 9, Royals 3: It looked as though James Shields (5-14) was on his way to his 15th loss. When he walked off the mound after getting the third out in the top of the seventh inning, the Sox were trailing, 3-2.
Instead, Shields earned his fifth victory after the Sox scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The rally was highlighted by a pair of three-run homers, one by Jose Abreu that gave the Sox a 5-3, the other by Nicky Delmonico that made it 9-3 and put the game out of reach.
Abreu increased his RBI total to 76 with one swing of the bat. His quest for 100 RBIs will be one of the stories to watch over the remaining 39 games.
Saturday, Aug. 18
Royals 3, White Sox 1: This was a brutal offensive game for the Sox, as they went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times.
Delmonico homered for the second straight day -- his fifth of the season -- but the highlights pretty much began and ended there.
Dylan Covey (4-10) pitched better than he usually does. He held Kansas City off the scoreboard through the first five innings and took a 1-0 lead into the sixth.
However, he allowed two runs in the sixth and was removed from the game with two outs. That was enough for him to take another loss.
Sunday, Aug. 19
White Sox 7, Royals 6: Reynaldo Lopez gave up six runs in the second inning and was gone by the third with the Sox trailing, 6-0. It wasn't looking too good.
However, the Royals blew that lead with ruthless efficiency. Kansas City starter Heath Fillmyer gave up six consecutive hits to open the bottom of the fourth inning.
Abreu singled. Daniel Palka singled. Avisail Garcia hit a three-run homer. Delmonico singled. Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer. Omar Narvaez hit a solo homer. In a span of about 10 to 12 pitches, the score went from 6-0 Royals to a 6-6 tie.
See ya later, Fillmyer.
The Sox took the lead for good in the fifth when Narvaez singled home Garcia, who had walked, with two outs.
Surprisingly, the Sox got seven shutout innings from their bullpen, led by Hector Santiago (5-3), who worked four innings in long relief. He struck out six and allowed only two hits, and that gave the Sox a chance to get back in the game.
Six relievers were needed in this game, but they all did the job, culminating in Jace Fry striking out the last two batters of the game to earn his second save.
Kopech to pitch Tuesday
The Sox in the third inning Sunday announced on the scoreboard that Kopech would be coming up to make his highly anticipated major league debut Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins.
The only complaint I have about this decision is that it didn't happen two weeks ago. Kopech basically has mastered the Triple-A level, overpowering hitters over his past seven starts, as we've discussed previously on this blog.
Even if he gets shelled Tuesday night, it's a good thing that he's coming to Chicago. It's time for him to learn at the big league level. Rewarding high-performing prospects with a more difficult challenge simply is the right thing to do, service time considerations be damned. And, the Sox need better players. They aren't 31 games under .500 by accident, so let's put better players on the team and try to win more games.
This is just so obviously the right move, and I'm looking forward to the game Tuesday.
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