Kopech's start cut short, but Sox rally for 6-1 win

In his short run with the White Sox, Michael Kopech has shown many skills.

The 22-year-old starter can consistently run his fastball up to 98 mph, and he'll eventually reach back for even more speed.

Kopech also fills up the strike zone with the heat and off-speed offerings, and he's already shown the poise of a tested veteran.

The right-hander's one flaw since joining the Sox's rotation? He can't make it stop raining at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“I'm going to say a prayer to Mother Nature and see if we can figure this out,” Kopech said.

In his major-league debut on Aug. 21, Kopech's home start was halted after 2 innings due to a 52-minute rain delay.

Kopech did get a full start last Sunday at Detroit, allowing 1 run over 6 innings.

Returning to the South Side Friday night to face his old organization, the Red Sox, Kopech pitched 3 scoreless innings against the best-hitting team in baseball.

Heavy rains hit during the bottom of the third and Kopech didn't come back out after a rain delay of 2 hours, 9 minutes.

When the game resumed Matt Davidson added a 3-run shot off Tyler Thornburg in the seventh as the White Sox won for the sixth time in eight games, 6-1.

Acquired from Boston with Moncada in the Chris Sale trade following the 2016 season, there was some speculation Kopech was going to be too pumped up at the start of the game. That was the case, as the right-hander hit Mookie Betts above the left elbow with his first pitch of the game.

“The nerves hit me a little more than I thought,” Kopech said.

After following with a walk to Andrew Benintendi, his first walk in the last 32 innings dating back to Class AAA Charlotte, Kopech worked out of the jam.

“I settled in and became comfortable,” Kopech said. “It's a big-time situation when you're able to get out of runners in scoring position opportunities. To keep zeros on the board when our team is scoring runs, it's really good.”

Through 3 starts with the White Sox, Kopech's allowed 1 run in 11 innings (0.82 ERA) to go with 9 strikeouts and 1 walk.

“Since I've been here, we've been a winning team,” Kopech said.