Unsung

White Sox rookie starter Jimmy Lambert was called up from Charlotte to start yesterday afternoon’s game against Cleveland and did what was asked of him by going three innings and limiting the damage to a run. Sox right fielder Brian Goodwin did likewise—OK, more—with his walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth. But the real unsung hero on a beautiful Sunday the first day of August was erstwhile starter and prospect Reynaldo Lopez. Talk about reintroducing yourself to the powers that be. Lopez followed Lambert and went three innings on just one hit and four strikeouts. He came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Franmil Reyes—think Goliath or just about any mythical creature of extraordinary size and power—swinging with a runner on third and two out in the top of the sixth. Not what you would expect of someone who was 1-6 with a 7.62 ERA in Triple-A this season. The team website quoted Lopez after the game: “If I’m feeling good, I know what I can do. That’s why I always said, ‘If God gives me health, I’m going to work hard to perform as I know I can do it.’” And he did. This is a player whose grandfather in the Dominican Republic traded the family cow to get his young grandson the baseball equipment he needed. Lopez joins a bullpen that includes Liam Hendriks of Australia and Michael Kopech, the pride of Longview, Texas. You could call them a diverse group. It's only fourteen innings, but Lopez is sporting a 1.29 ERA since rejoining the team two weeks ago. To get where he is from where he’s been is no small accomplishment. You can only hope he can stay there.