Two Out of Three for a Split Ain't Bad, I Guess

Carlos Rodon returned from the IL to pitch five effective innings and pick up the win in Toronto yesterday, the White Sox topping the Blue Jays, 10-7. Meanwhile, Sox hitters shook off the effects of Robbie Ray and his slider to pound Blue Jays’ pitching for four homeruns. Good starting pitching and timely offense—what else could you ask for? Maybe something out of the bullpen. The Sox did in fact get good relief from the seventh through the ninth innings, with Ryan Tepera, Garrett Crochet and Craig Kimbrel each throwing a scoreless inning, Kimbrel picking up the save along the way. Only there seems to be something wrong with Michael Kopech, as evidenced by the five runs he gave up in the sixth inning. Out of the eight batters he faced, Kopech yielded four hits and a hit-by-pitch, every one of them scoring. By my count, three of the four hits were on changeups or breaking balls in the mid- to upper-80s. And here I thought he was a fastball pitcher. If there’s any silver lining here, it comes from my very own TMZ source, who also happens to be my daughter. She reports that Kopech’s wife (or ex-wife or estranged wife, no one seems to know for sure) was at the game, along with their child. So, it may just have been a case of nerves. I can only hope the postseason feels different then, because that was one brutal sixth inning.