WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST

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1 WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST 22, 2018 Sox lose but Kopech shines in rain-shortened debut Scott Merkin, MLB.com Abreu undergoes surgery on abdomen/groin area Scott Merkin, MLB.com Renteria out of hospital, set for more tests Scott Merkin, MLB.com White Sox manager Rick Renteria will spend another night in Minnesota after being released from hospital Vinnie Duber, NBC Sports Chicago Rain brings early end to Michael Kopech's major league debut Vinnie Duber, NBC Sports Chicago Jose Abreu sidelined for two weeks after having surgery Vinnie Duber, NBC Sports Chicago Short but sweet: 'Nothing but positive for Michael Kopech tonight' Vinnie Duber, NBC Sports Chicago Column: The two most impressive parts of Michael Kopech s debut Steve Rosenbloom, Chicago Tribune Michael Kopech's dream comes true on a rainy night on the South Side Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune Michael Kopech impresses Nolan Ryan in rain-shortened White Sox debut Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune Flamethrowing Michael Kopech energizes Sox fans in major-league debut Rick Telander, Chicago Sun Times White Sox Kopech done after rain delay Daryl Van Schouwen, Sun Times White Sox Abreu undergoes outpatient surgery, out for two weeks Daryl Van Schouwen, Sun Times White Sox manager Rick Renteria released from hospital, to undergo more tests Daryl Van Schouwen, Sun Times Michael Kopech s debut is short but sweet for White Sox Daryl Van Schouwen, Sun Times White Sox super-prospect Michael Kopech s stuff dazzles in brief, memorable debut James Fegan, The Athletic It was a long time coming : Michael Kopech debuts before his family and 23,000 or so new friends Jon Greenberg, The Athletic Carlos Rodón s dominant stretch is missing one thing: his best stuff James Fegan, The Athletic At 35th and Shields, Michael Kopech merchandise was flying off the shelves as fans reveled in his debut Lauren Comitor, The Athletic Sox lose but Kopech shines in rain-shortened debut By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 22, 2018 CHICAGO -- Mother Nature did what the Twins offense could not really do during their 5-2 victory Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field: knock out White Sox starter Michael Kopech. In front of a crowd of 23,133, including 8,000 tickets purchased since Kopech's start was announced Sunday and another 1,400 vouchers cashed in for this night, the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline allowed three hits while fanning four in two scoreless innings. At that point, a heavy rain storm started and delayed the game 52 minutes. Minnesota starter Jose Berrios returned, but Luis Avilan replaced Kopech for the third. That rain-induced exit didn't dampen Kopech's emotions for this special performance done in front of his parents, his sisters and many other family members and friends.

2 "It was a dream come true. It's everything I thought about since a little kid. I was pumped," Kopech said. "You see the fans engaged the way they were. It really made me feel more comfortable and feel like I belonged. I just tried to do what I do best and throw strikes." "I thought he was unbelievable," said White Sox bench coach and acting manager Joe McEwing. "The energy, I'm sure he had so much adrenaline going from the excitement walking out of the dugout leading up to his warmup. And I think it was pretty special by the fans here in Chicago to give him that applause and follow him every step of the way." Kopech averaged 96.8 mph on his 40 fastballs, which would rank third best among MLB starters who have thrown at least 500 fastballs this year per Statcast. He also averaged 2,615 rpm on his 4-seamer, which would top Justin Verlander among qualified MLB starters (min seamers). "Across the board, he shows you not just stuff-wise but makeup-wise, he was in control of everything the whole game," McEwing said. "Except the adrenaline of 20,000-some-odd people wanting him to succeed and basically strike everybody out, which is unreasonable. But I thought he held his composure." His first pitch of the night to Joe Mauer was a 96-mph fastball for a strike. His second pitch was grounded to center for a base hit. Kopech actually faced a first-and-third, nobody-out situation in the first before retiring Jorge Polanco on a fly ball to left fielder Nicky Delmonico, striking out Miguel Sano with a slider for his first career punchout and then getting Max Kepler on a 3-2 fly out to center fielder Adam Engel. Two more baserunners reached against Kopech in the second, via a hit batsman and a soft single to left from Bobby Wilson. But Kopech struck out the side in the second with the speeds on his strikeout pitches hitting 98.3 mph, 96.4 mph and 97.5 mph. The final strikeout was a called third against Mauer in a sevenpitch at-bat. "There was a lot of energy here," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Obviously the Sox fans are very well aware of this guy, and put him being part of the future. I thought he handled it pretty well. He's got three good pitches that we saw, got his strikeouts, all those things." "My entire life I've tried to prep myself for this moment so I didn't feel overwhelmed when I did get here," Kopech said. "It was just about as spot on as I could imagine. The fans were a lot more engaged than I expected. I wouldn't say it was overwhelming but a really cool experience. It was amazing out there." Of his six swings and misses on his 52 pitches, three came off Kopech's fastball and three came off the slider. The crowd applauded Kopech from the time he started warming up pregame in the bullpen through every chance he had to record a strikeout. That same crowd was understandably disappointed when Avilan entered the game, with no disrespect meant to Avilan. Dylan Covey, who Kopech replaced in the rotation, suffered the loss as a result of a three-run Twins' ninth. But Kopech lived up to the advanced billing, with the White Sox not risking their future by pushing him back out after the delay. They enjoyed an important step forward in the rebuild. "I was a little bummed out. I wanted to go a little deeper into the game," Kopech said. "I didn't realize my pitch count was as high as it was already anyway. But I mean either way I got to experience the debut and like I said it was a dream come true. Even though I didn't get to go deep, it was a lot of fun. At least I got my feet wet and I'll get ready for the next one." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Tough to describe: The White Sox ultimately didn't score in the eighth but they had chances thanks to some strange plays. Engel opened the frame with a single but was easily picked off by Trevor May. As Mauer ran Engel toward second, he threw toward the base where nobody was covering allowing Engel to reach second safely. Tim Anderson bunted Engel over to third but then got caught in a rundown between first and second. Eventually, the Twins nailed Engel straying off third in the chaos for the first out but not before Anderson reached third. May struck out Yolmer Sanchez and Matt Davidson to end the inning.

3 SOUND SMART The White Sox have homered in a season-high 13 straight games, with Delmonico and Yoan Moncada going deep Tuesday. It's their longest streak since going 15 games from May 14-29, HE SAID IT "For the most part, with me, the plan is always going to be to throw it until they hit it. Obviously it's going to get hit at some point and I'm going to have to throw my other pitches but I feel comfortable throwing all my pitches right now. Being able to do what I can with that early on is pretty much the game plan every game."--kopech on throwing 19 fastballs among his 22 pitches in the first inning. UP NEXT Left-hander Carlos Rodon moves back one day with the arrival of Kopech, getting the afternoon contest against the Twins in a 1:10 p.m. CT start at Guaranteed Rate Field Wednesday. Kyle Gibson takes the mound for Minnesota. Rodon is coming off back-to-back eight-inning performances and has a 1.60 ERA over 50 2/3 innings in his last seven starts. Abreu undergoes surgery on abdomen/groin area By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 22, 2018 CHICAGO -- First baseman Jose Abreu underwent successful outpatient surgery on his lower abdomen/groin area at Rush University Medical Center and will be able to return to baseball activities in approximately two weeks. Dr. Christopher Coogan performed the surgery. Abreu was scratched from Tuesday's lineup after complaining of discomfort when he arrived at the ballpark before the White Sox 5-2 loss to the Twins. Abreu is slashing.350/.400/.699 with eight doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBIs, a OPS and 13 multi-hit efforts over his last 26 games, of which he has hit safely in 22. But his streak of consecutive seasons with 25 home runs and 100 RBIs to start his career might end at four due to this setback, with Abreu currently sitting at 22 and 78 with 37 games to play. View Full Game Coverage The White Sox aren't worried about such numbers and are happy just to know what was causing the pain for Abreu. "We weren't really sure what was going on when he showed up," White Sox bench coach and acting manager Joe McEwing said. "Obviously, it was possibly a little worse than what we anticipated. "But everything was taken care of, and they did an amazing job. He'll resume baseball activities in 10 days. Thank god they caught it that quick and were able to take care of it." The White Sox are expected to make a roster move before Wednesday afternoon's contest. Nicky Delmonico, Matt Davidson and Daniel Palka all could see time at first base in Abreu's absence. Renteria out of hospital, set for more tests By Scott Merkin / MLB.com / August 22, 2018 CHICAGO -- White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing had a message for Rick Renteria during the five or six times he talked to the hard-nosed manager Tuesday, especially when Renteria asked what was going on around the team. "I told him 'Don't worry about it. We've got this. Don't worry about it. Worry about yourself and getting healthy,'" McEwing said. "That's where our mindset is." Renteria was released from the hospital in Minneapolis late Tuesday afternoon after undergoing a battery of tests for an episode of lightheadedness prior to last night's game, an 8-5 victory managed by McEwing in Renteria's absence. He will spend the night in Minnesota before returning to Chicago Wednesday,

4 when he will undergo further testing at Rush University Medical Center under the supervision of Dr. Scott Palmer. McEwing went to Target Field with Renteria on Monday, and he was totally fine. They went over the game plan, and McEwing went out to check the weather. When he came back inside, McEwing heard the news on Renteria. "First things first. Our thoughts are with Ricky," McEwing said. "He's an amazing person, an amazing leader. He sounds great. He's a very tough individual. "Once again, I'm more worried about him as an individual. He loves the organization and he loves this city and positive things are going to come out of today. I'm sure he wishes he could be here, but it's just worry about him and get healthy." HYPE DESERVED FOR KOPECH Hector Santiago hasn't seen Michael Kopech in person since Spring Training. But the electric repertoire possessed by Tuesday night's starter and the No. 13 prospect in the game overall per MLB Pipeline stayed with the veteran left-hander. "I know watching him in Spring Training he was stressed out about his changeup," Santiago said. "I'm like, 'With a fastball like that, just keep your slider and your curveball and you'll be all right.' "Watching him throw next to me I was like I don't want to throw my bullpen. I'm trying to make the team and they were next to me and they were watching us all. His fastball compared to mine? Big difference. "His stuff is electric. Has life on it. You see catchers' reaction back there. It's good stuff," Santiago said. "There's no doubt he can have a long career up here, a lot of success. It's a matter of how he takes it." Santiago stressed for Kopech not to change the things he used to get him to the Majors. "Same game, different stadium. A lot more people," Santiago said. "Just try to have fun and do the same things you did to get here. Just because you got here doesn't mean you have to change anything." "He's going to put on a show tonight," White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson said. "He's going to do good." THIRD TO FIRST An MRI Tuesday on outfielder Leury Garcia revealed a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring that will sideline him three to six weeks. Outfielder Ryan LaMarre was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to replace Garcia. Right-hander pitcher Tyler Danish was optioned to Charlotte with Kopech's contract being purchased from the Knights. The White Sox have listed James Shields (Thursday), Reynaldo Lopez (Friday), Lucas Giolito (Saturday) and Kopech (Sunday) as their starting pitchers in Detroit this weekend. With the team staying at a five-man-rotation, Dylan Covey appears to be the starter moving to the bullpen although nothing was officially confirmed Tuesday. Carlos Rodon, the current ace of the White Sox staff, made his debut in relief on April 21, 2015, at home against the Indians. He pointed to that role as one of the reasons why there's a little more hype around Kopech's debut. "I was in the bullpen. I wasn't a starter. We were decent, plus we had freaking dudes," Rodon said. "We had (Chris) Sale, (Jose) Quintana, Abreu and (Jeff) Samardzija. I was the young kid." White Sox manager Rick Renteria will spend another night in Minnesota after being released from hospital

5 By Vinnie Duber / NBC Sports Chicago / August 21, 2018 Rick Renteria will not manage the White Sox in Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. He'll spend one more night in Minnesota after he was taken to the hospital ahead of Monday night's game. Renteria had what the White Sox described as "an episode of lightheadedness" and was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. According to the team, he will return to Chicago on Wednesday and undergo further testing at RUSH University Medical Center. Bench coach Joe McEwing managed the team in Renteria's place Monday in Minnesota and will manage Tuesday night, as well. "Our thoughts are with Ricky," McEwing said before the game Tuesday. "He s an amazing person, an amazing leader. I talked to him five or six times today, just to more or less see how he s doing as a person. That s what means the most. "He sounds great. He s a very tough individual. Just to hear him laughing, kind of see what is going on around here, 'Don t worry about it. We ve got this. Don t worry about it. Worry about yourself and getting healthy.' That s where our mindset is." Renteria's absence comes on an important night for the White Sox rebuild, with top-ranked pitching prospect Michael Kopech making his major league debut on the South Side. Rain brings early end to Michael Kopech's major league debut By Vinnie Duber / NBC Sports Chicago / August 21, 2018 Michael Kopech's major league debut didn't play out the way anyone wanted it to. Mostly because it stopped not long after it got going. A second-inning rainstorm brought an early end to #KopechDay, the White Sox top pitching prospect lasting just six outs in the first game of his big league career. Kopech didn't give up a run, starting his career ERA at a pristine 0.00, though surely he would've liked to add some innings to that total right out of the gate. The innings he did pitch Tuesday night had a playoff-like atmosphere, mostly because the enthusiastic Guaranteed Rate Field crowd was hanging on every pitch. The flame-throwing youngster who's such a key piece of the organization's ongoing rebuilding effort didn't touch 100 mph in his first outing, though he struck out four Minnesota Twins hitters and was in the high 90s on most of his many fastballs. But that playoff style carried over to the at-bats, too, with the Twins fouling off a lot of pitches, making Kopech work. They put two men on base in each of those two innings, making the six outs Kopech did get stressful ones. In the first, the Twins put runners at the corners with nobody out. Kopech got out of the jam, though, an impressive sign from a pitcher in his big league debut. But had he continued like that, rain or no rain, he wasn't going to last too long. He threw 52 pitches in just two frames, allowing three hits and hitting a batter. So it wasn't an ideal rebuild milestone, but Kopech now has major league experience. He's hoping to get a lot more of it literally in the remaining seven or so starts he's slated to make this season. Jose Abreu sidelined for two weeks after having surgery By Vinnie Duber / NBC Sports Chicago / August 21, 2018 'Nothing but positive for Michael Kopech tonight'

6 Abreu sidelined for two weeks after having surgery Jose Abreu will miss at least the next two weeks after having surgery on his lower abdomen/groin area Tuesday. The White Sox first baseman was scratched from Tuesday's lineup after complaining of discomfort when he arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field before the start of a two-game home set with the visiting Minnesota Twins. The team announced during Tuesday's game that Abreu underwent successful outpatient surgery done by Dr. Christopher Coogan of RUSH University Medical Center and that he will return to baseball activities in approximately two weeks. A return to baseball activities, of course, does not mean a return to game action, and the White Sox will likely be without their best hitter for longer than the two-week timeframe. For Abreu, it puts into jeopardy his pursuit of a fifth consecutive 25-homer, 100-RBI season. Last year, he became the third player ever to start his big league career with four campaigns of at least 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. And though a prolonged slump this season seemed to have him moving toward his worst statistical season since coming to the White Sox, he has been terrific in the second half, slashing.330/.394/.652 in his last 29 games since starting the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. Short but sweet: 'Nothing but positive for Michael Kopech tonight' By Vinnie Duber/ NBC Sports Chicago / August 22, 2018 This wasn t exactly how Michael Kopech s debut was supposed to go. But in another way, it was exactly what everyone expected. It s darn near impossible to meet the extraordinarily high expectations White Sox fans have for the organization s wealth of talented prospects, but Kopech was very, very good in his rain-shortened first outing for the major league club Tuesday night on the South Side. Rain came in the second inning boy, did it rain and Kopech, who tossed 52 pitches in a high-stress couple of innings, didn t return when the game resumed just shy of an hour later. But when he was on the mound, he threw a fastball in the upper 90s, struck out four batters, walked none and allowed no Minnesota Twin to cross home plate. He impressed the most when after giving up back-to-back singles to start the game, he got three straight outs, escaping his first major league jam in his first major league inning. It was an impressive display for everyone watching, including the fired-up crowd that gave him a standing ovation any time he got a batter in a two-strike count. I think across the board, he shows you not just stuff-wise but makeup-wise, he was in control of everything the whole game, said White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing, taking over managerial duties for Rick Renteria on Tuesday night. I thought he held his composure. And after the first-and-third, nobody out, being able to gather himself and get out of that situation, it shows the maturity that he has grown throughout the year, from the first day of spring training when we saw him till now. That was pretty exciting stuff, Kopech said. I didn t really know how many people were going to be here tonight in general. I knew that maybe half the crowd was going to be my family. It was exciting to see how invested the fans were tonight. A standing ovation every time I had two strikes, I didn t expect that, but that was, it made me feel like I was in a big-time game, and I guess it was a big-time game for me. It was awesome.

7 Kopech s season at Triple-A had its ups and downs, and what was expected by many onlookers to be a quick rise from that level to the majors turned into four and a half months of Kopech pitching well, struggling and then overcoming those struggles to dominate in a fashion that warranted a promotion to the big leagues. After a midseason stretch that saw him issue a bunch of walks and his ERA steadily rise, he was outstanding in his final seven starts as a Charlotte Knight. He carried that over into Tuesday night, and the guy who plenty thought was this organization s finest pitcher back in the spring showed why those beliefs were not necessarily unwarranted. That s big for me, knowing that I can still do what I did in Charlotte at this level, he said. I m excited about the next upcoming start, just to see how well I do going deep into the game. I m just going to throw all my pitches. I was able to use every pitch I have today and for the most part throw them all for strikes. I m just going to continue to build off of that. There will be far more to take from Kopech s next outing, one that will hopefully be unaffected by rain. And there ll be more to take from the outing after that. And more and more as he continues to gain big league experience. Two innings are hardly enough to make overarching declarations about the young man s career. And so Tuesday simply served as a taste. It did the job of getting the debut out of the way, of allowing fans to give him a standing ovation for simply stepping onto the field. But it was merely an introduction to the major league experience for a guy who has always seemed so ready for it. My entire life, I ve tried to prep myself for this moment so I didn t feel overwhelmed when I did get here, Kopech said. It was just about as spot on as I could imagine. The fans were a lot more engaged than I expected. I wouldn t say it was overwhelming, but a really cool experience. It was amazing out there. See you Sunday. Column: The two most impressive parts of Michael Kopech s debut By Steve Rosenbloom/ Chicago Tribune / August 22, 2018 No walks. That, for me, was the most impressive stat delivered Tuesday by the event formerly known as Michael Kopech. Kopech kept the Twins scoreless even after their first two hitters reached base in the first inning of his major-league career, and the four strikeouts were terrific, especially getting Joe Mauer looking, but, to paraphrase Jackson Brown, nobody rode for free. Yeah, Kopech pitched only two innings before rain created a 52-minute delay that ended his night, so he didn t have many chances to walk guys. But remember in that time, Lucas Giolito could hit double figures. The next most impressive part: Kopech topped out at 98 mph. Everybody was waiting to explode the first time Kopech hit triple digits on the radar gun. Everything pointed to that: Big kid, big arm, pumped up to realize a dream, an actual White Sox crowd responding to every move by the pitching Messiah. I figured he d throw his first five pitches in his first major-league game at 120 mph, or at least 105. But no. The 22-year-old tamped down his raging nerves without losing his nerve. He resisted the urge to overthrow, to let loose, to show off. That s Cy Young maturity to grasp on a glorious night that meant so much to Kopech and the assorted Kopechs at Guaranteed Rate Field that a 98 mph strike was just as good as 105 and easier to control.

8 Tweet from Tribune Baseball Jedi Warrior Paul Sullivan: No fault of Kopech, but Kopech Day started out like Godfather Part II and ended like Gigli. If you had asked me before the game to name a reason that Kopech would go only two innings, I would ve had rain a distant second to CB Bucknor. Tweet from baseball author Keith Law: The game just started and Kopech s hair looks like it s already in the top of the sixth. Bears No. 1 draft pick Roquan Smith couldn t finish practice Tuesday because of a hamstring issue. Who could ve predicted a holdout who missed about a month of training camp coming up injured almost immediately upon reporting? By refusing to budge on the right to void guaranteed money for some game actions, titular GM Ryan Pace continued to keep Smith off the field, and now the Bears can t keep him on the field. Bears rookie wide receiver Anthony Miller has strong hands. Strong, strong hands. Strong enough, it looks like, to eventually grab what was supposed to be Kevin White s career. But say this for White: He drew a pass interference call for 37 yards, the longest gain for the Bears firststringers against the Broncos. That s why Matt Nagy always says Mitch Trubisky will continue looking down field. An I received Tuesday: Hoping you might take a look at Chicago's own, Jimmy Murray, #67 on Kansas City Chiefs. He's an UDFA with a great chance to make the team playing center or right guard. He's a Wilmette kid who barely got playing time at Loyola Academy til his senior year. Walked on at Holy Cross out in Worcester, Mass., started 41 straight games and now playing in Soldier Field against the team he grew up rooting for the Bears! His dad and uncles are all Bears season-ticket holders for years. He will have 300-plus family and friends on the lakefront to root him on. A real late bloomer and an unlikely story. Can you tell the came from proud papa Bob Murray? Good on ya, Bob, and let me be the first to wish you a happy Father s Day on Saturday. Yu Darvish was shut down for the season with what is being called a stress reaction in his elbow, and I m thinking, the reaction had to be Don t even bring up Jake Arrieta. Michael Kopech's dream comes true on a rainy night on the South Side By Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune / August 22, 2018 Michael Kopech said he was a little bummed out to have his major league debut shortened by a 52- minute rain delay, but was ecstatic with the results of his outing. I wanted to go a little deeper into the game, he said. I didn t realize my pitch count was as high as it was (52 pitches), but either way I got to experience the debut, and it was a dream come true. Kopech s two scoreless innings were electric, with the crowd of 23,133 on its feet and cheering each time he got to two strikes on a Twins hitter. He finished with four strikeouts, including the last one to Joe Mauer on the final pitch of his night. I didn t expect that, he said of the ovations. It made me feel like I was in a big-time game. And I guess it was a big-time game for me. It was awesome. Even before the game began, Sox fans crowded into the left-field corner and behind the left-field bullpen to get a glimpse of the new 22-year-old phenom, the one with the long hair and triple-digit fastball. Many

9 had their phones ready and juiced to send out posts on their social media accounts to chronicle the day Kopech made his major-league debut. I thought he was unbelievable, the energy, said coach Joe McEwing, the Sox s acting manager in place of the ailing Rick Renteria. I m sure he had so much adrenaline going, From walking out of the dugout leading up to his warmup. And I think it was pretty special by the fans here in Chicago to give him that applause and follow him every step of the way. As he was warming up, very rarely do you see three or four rows deep of people, and that s pretty special and a pretty special feeling. He took it into the game and I thought he pitched very well, under the circumstances of his first outing. I m sure he tried to overthrow some pitches. Kopech admitted he didn t sleep well Sunday night, estimating he got only about an hour of sleep after he got the news he was coming to Chicago. He mentally had prepared himself for not getting the call-up and said he was ready just to build off what he s done this year at Triple-A Charlotte. But I m here now he said with a grin. Kopech said his mother began screaming when he told her the news, and that it made him tear up just listening to her. Just knowing we had all waited on this for so long, he said. It was definitely overwhelming. Obviously I ve wanted to be here for so long, but it was just one of those situations that until I stepped out on that mound it didn t set in. Kopech finally did get some rest on Monday, but said it was a whirlwind of friends and family wishing him luck. He said it really didn t set in that he was a White Sox until he got to the city, and he felt fine Tuesdat as soon as his lips stopped quivering, after which he treated it like just another outing. The fans were into it from his first pitch strike to Mauer. McEwing said Kopech held his composure in spite of the fact the Sox fans all wanted him to basically strike everyone out, which is unreasonable. Kopech didn t mind the unreasonable pressure. It was awesome to see the fans engaged the way they were, he said. It really made me feel more comfortable and feel like I belonged, and I just tried to do what I do best and throw strikes. The Texas-born Kopech said hearing that his idol, Nolan Ryan, was watching and complementing his performance means the world to me, and added it was truly an amazing feeling to hear Pedro Martinez was tweeting about him as well. The only downer of the game was the fact he couldn t go longer due to the storm. McEwing said it wasn t a difficult decision to take him out of the game after the 52-minute delay, even knowing everyone came out to see him pitch. No, praise all of our White Sox fans who came out and wanted to see something special, he said. And it was special. It wasn t a tough decision. You worry more about the individual and the length of his career than going out and throwing one more inning, not knowing if the rai is coming again and stretching it out. Despite pitching only two innings, Kopech will stay on his usual routine and start in five days against the Tigers on Sunday in Detroit. The hard part is now over.

10 He s here, and he s here to stay. A sense of normalcy will soon set in and Tuesday s crazy start will just be another one for the Kopech scrapbook. Michael Kopech impresses Nolan Ryan in rain-shortened White Sox debut By Phil Rogers/ Chicago Tribune / August 21, 2018 When Michael Kopech took the mound for his White Sox debut, he was wearing No. 34 to honor fellow Texan Nolan Ryan, his father s favorite pitcher. Ryan, who had heard whispers about Kopech s potential to dominate, watched the Twins-Sox game on TV to see for himself. He came away as impressed as any of the fans who chanted Let s go, Kopech! as he stared down Joe Mauer in the second inning Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. I really like what I see, Ryan told the Tribune. He has great composure and good command. I think he has handled his first start amazingly well. Imagine that. This kid from East Texas not only fulfilling a dream he d had since he was a preschooler but even impressing baseball s all-time strikeout king. Pretty good start for the 22-year-old Kopech and the White Sox, even if Kopech s outing was shortened to two innings by a 52-minute rain delay. He threw 52 pitches and posted four strikeouts. After my lips stopped quivering, I was comfortable, Kopech said after the 5-2 loss. I had a lot of adrenaline obviously. It was like a dream come true. He was bummed out by the rain delay. I wanted to go deeper into the game, he said. But either way, it was like a dream come true. Kopech isn t old enough to have watched Ryan live. He grew up idolizing Tim Lincecum and Noah Syndergaard but studied tapes of Ryan with his father, a lawyer who drove him all over the state to pitch in showcases and play on travel teams. When Ryan was Kopech s age, he had 53 walks in 89 1/3 innings as a swingman for the 1969 Mets. Kopech walked none in his two innings, running his streak to 26 innings since his last walk. He threw firstpitch strikes to seven of the 10 hitters he faced. I am truly impressed with his fastball command and ability to pitch inside consistently, said Ryan, who is an adviser to Astros owner Jim Crane. His curve will improve and he will need to (improve his) change sooner than later. Kopech s first pitch was a 96 mph fastball that Mauer took for a strike. He would give up back-to-back singles to Mauer and Eddie Rosario but retire the Twins hitters to keep the game scoreless. He got Miguel Sano to chase an outside curveball for his first career strikeout. Kopech struck out the first two hitters he faced in the second inning, getting Logan Forsythe on a 98-mph fastball called for a strike and Jake Cave swinging on a 96-mph fastball. The Twins got something going at the bottom of the order. Kopech nicked Robbie Grossman with a 98- mph fastball on a 2-2 count and then gave up a bloop single to Bobby Wilson on a 97-mph fastball. But he won a seven-pitch battle against Mauer to end the inning, getting him on called third strike. Kopech s debut drew a partying crowd to Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox had unusually large walk-up sales since Sunday, when they announced he was being promoted from Triple-A Charlotte.

11 This was a special day in the Sox clubhouse, as well as the stands. We re all very excited, said Joe McEwing, who was filling in as interim manager. We re excited as an organization, we re excited as a city. He brings a lot of positive energy to what we re building here. Kopech, regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, was acquired from the Red Sox along with Yoan Moncada in the four-player package for Chris Sale. It s easy to project him into the same kind of front-of-the-rotation role that Sale grew into during his seven seasons with the Sox, which is why his new teammates are so happy to have him with them. It says a lot, shortstop Tim Anderson said. (The front office) did the right things and moved the right pieces to head in the right direction. Hopefully we can bring something special on the South Side. Flamethrowing Michael Kopech energizes Sox fans in major-league debut By Rick Telander/ Chicago Sun Times / August 22, 2018 Say what you will about the boredom of the White Sox rebuilding/tanking process, but there was a hairraising charge in the air Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. And it wasn t lightning from nearby storms. Or the rain that paused the game after 1½ innings. No, it was the wildly anticipated arrival of young flamethrower Michael Kopech from the minors. There is nothing quite as exciting in sports as the dreamed-about entrance of a fresh phenom who hopefully will lead long-suffering fans to the promised land. Even as Kopech, 22, leaned against the outfield wall long before the game, swinging one leg and then the other in semicircular stretches, Sox fans cheered and gaped. It was a dream come true, Kopech would say afterward, genuinely moved. The fans were a lot more engaged than I expected. He summed up the whole experience as a whirlwind and overwhelming. When purple-haired Jim Peterik led his vintage band, The Ides of March, in a stirring, harmony-soaked rendition of the national anthem, fans were half-crazed for what was soon to come. And when Kopech at last strode to the mound, his blond hair poking out from under his cap like hay from under a wagon tarp, a standing ovation erupted spontaneously. Who cared that there were only 23,000 folks in the 40,000-seat stadium? Here came history, perhaps. After a 5-2 loss to the Twins, the Sox are 31 games below.500 and have a worse record than all but two major-league teams. Hope is a candle that flickers down a dark hall for the Sox, and Kopech is the anointed savior to move the candle closer to sunshine ahead. The kid has been talked about for years. His fastball can hit triple digits, his curveball can buckle your knees and his tenacity is solid. His dad, a lawyer and coach also named Michael Kopech, tweeted this a couple of hours before his son s first big-league start: For all you young dads out there, ignite the love for the game today and you might be witnessing a dream come true in about 20 years. #KopechDay@whitesox

12 Well, yeah, maybe. If you ve got a son in Texas throwing rocks through brick walls, then go for it. In all honesty, though, your little boy is to Kopech as a squirt gun is to a bazooka. He s a very talented and different kid, acting Sox manager Joe McEwing said before the game. That is, you don t teach a kid how to throw a ball so fast that it almost ignites. You can teach him technique and attitude, but natural talent brings speed. You realize it s something special, McEwing said of that talent. You see, one of Kopech s fastballs was clocked at 105 mph in a game in Class A a little more than a year ago. Then with an underweight ball and a crow hop, he threw 110 mph in a video that went viral awhile back. That s sick, as they say in the bigs. It doesn t matter if you throw a perfectly smooth, aerodynamic pebble from the beach 110 mph, almost nobody in the world can do that. Kopech threw his first pitch, a strike, to Twins leadoff man Joe Mauer at 96 mph. The crowd roared. Unfortunately, Mauer singled on the next pitch, a 98 mph fastball. Then second batter Eddie Rosario also singled. After six pitches, the savior had two men on with nobody out. But Kopech retired the next three hitters, and nobody scored. He was a star again. Before the game, veteran Sox pitcher Hector Santiago had felt the vibes. He s going to have a lot of adrenaline, Santiago said of Kopech. I m hoping for 140 mph. Hoping he breaks the radar gun. Of Kopech s 22 pitches in the first inning, 18 were 95 mph or faster. He topped out at 98. The thing is, major-leaguers will hit straight heat. The ball had better move, break or do something, or it will get sizzled. Kopech took something off his fastball to gain more control. It basically worked. He pitched two innings, threw 52 pitches, allowed three hits, struck out four and yielded no runs. Then the rain came, and the kid was done for the night. Wildness is the curse of guys with extreme heat, and Kopech, who hit a batter when he had two strikes on him, must improve his control. But he was really wild not long ago in the minors, and now happy day! he s a big-leaguer with a 0.00 ERA. He has said he wants to be a dominant pitcher that s throwing 97 or 107 or 67, whatever. It doesn t matter. True, it doesn t matter. Not when you always have that lightning bolt in your holster. White Sox Kopech done after rain delay By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun Times / August 22, 2018 Michael Kopech s major league debut was shortened by rain.

13 The White Sox and Twins, playing before a spirited crowd on hand to watch the Sox top pitching project, were delayed for 52 minutes in the middle of the second inning Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. With 52 pitches thrown in his first two innings, the Sox were cautious with their prized 22-year-old righty, lifting him from the game after two innings rather than risk sending him back out after a cool down. Kopech allowed no runs on three hits with four strikeouts. He hit one batter and walked none. Before the rain, Kopech kept the crowd on its feet for much of his first two innings in which he struck out four, walked none and hit a batter while allowing three singles. Kopech threw 35 of his pitches for strikes strikes through two innings of a scoreless game. After the delay, Nicky Delmonico homered to center against Twins righty Jose Berrios who returned after the rain leading off the bottom of the second to make it 1-0. White Sox Abreu undergoes outpatient surgery, out for two weeks By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / August 22, 2018 White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu likely will be out at least two weeks after undergoing outpatient surgery on his groin area Tuesday, the White Sox announced. Abreu had the procedure done at Rush University Medical Center after he complained of discomfort when he arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field for the Sox game against the Twins. He will be able to return to baseball activities in approximately two weeks, the Sox said. Matt Davidson batted third and played first base in place of Abreu, who has hit safely in six consecutive games. In his last 25 games, he s hitting.347/.400/.704 with nine home runs, eight doubles, 24 RBI and a OPS. He has hit safely in 21 of those games. Leury Garcia on DL Outfielder Leury Garcia suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring Monday that will sideline him three to six weeks, meaning his season could be over. Garcia was put on the 10-day disabled list, and outfielder Ryan LaMarre was recalled from Class AAA Charlotte. The Sox also optioned right-hander Tyler Danish to Charlotte and purchased the contract of Michael Kopech, who made his major-league debut Tuesday. The Sox 40-man roster is at 39. Covey out of rotation After Kopech and Carlos Rodon face the Twins, the Sox will start James Shields, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Kopech against the Tigers on Thursday through Sunday in Detroit. That means Dylan Covey (4-10, 5.87 ERA), who has made 17 starts, is going to the bullpen, likely for long relief and possible spot starts down the stretch. Covey pitched 5⅔ innings of two-run ball with three walks and six strikeouts in his last start Saturday against the Royals. Joe McManager Bench coach Joe McEwing, on managing in place of Rick Renteria, who was hospitalized Monday in Minneapolis after feeling lightheaded: It s enjoyable. It s something you take on and you embrace it. You manage in the minor leagues, you go through it. You prepare yourself every day for opportunities, just making the most of every opportunity you can. That s the way we re going to go about it. We re prepared, and we re going to see after nine innings how it plays out.

14 White Sox manager Rick Renteria released from hospital, to undergo more tests By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / August 22, 2018 White Sox manager Rick Renteria was released from a hospital in Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon after undergoing a battery of tests for an episode of lightheadedness suffered before the Sox game Monday against the Twins. Renteria missed right-hander Michael Kopech s major-league debut, spending the night in Minneapolis and planning to return to Chicago on Wednesday for further testing at Rush University Medical Center. The Sox close out their series against the Twins on Wednesday before heading to Detroit for a four-game series against the Tigers. It s not known when Renteria, 56, will return to the dugout, but he has been telling those close to him that he feels well. He sounds great, said bench coach Joe McEwing, who is managing the team in Renteria s absence. First things first: Our thoughts are with Ricky. He s an amazing person, an amazing leader. I talked to him five or six times [Tuesday], just to more or less see how he s doing as a person. That s what means the most. With Kopech pitching Tuesday, the game represented something of a benchmark in the Sox rebuild, and those close to Renteria were disappointed for him that he wasn t with the team. But Renteria, as he always does, remained upbeat. He s a very tough individual, McEwing said. Just to hear him laughing, kind of seeing what is going on around here, I said: Don t worry about it. We ve got this. Worry about yourself and getting healthy. That s where our mindset is. Renteria went to Target Field before the Sox game Monday and seemed fine at first, McEwing said. We were talking; we went to the park together, McEwing said. He was totally fine. Then we re talking, going over game plan for yesterday. Then I went out to check the weather didn t think anything of it and came back in and heard the news. Renteria, who is in his second season as the Sox manager, is highly respected in the clubhouse. Our whole team is concerned, left-hander Carlos Rodon said. He s our manager. It s definitely tough, left-hander Hector Santiago said. He s motivating all these [young] guys, keeping these guys positive, keeping us on the right track, even though we are losing. So having him sidelined is going to be tough, but we have a good staff behind him, and those guys can pick up where he left off. Michael Kopech s debut is short but sweet for White Sox By Daryl Van Schouwen / Sun-Times / August 22, 2018 There were no triple-digit readings on the speed guns for Michael Kopech, and if you read that as disappointing, reconsider. Kopech can throw baseballs at 100 mph if he wants to, but what the White Sox much-ballyhooed pitching prospect demonstrated in his major-league debut Tuesday against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field was a pretty good feel for pitching, which, packaged with his premium stuff, could translate into a nice, long career.

15 In the Sox 5-2 loss, it was only a two-inning tease a rain delay shortened the 22-year-old s night to the disappointment of an amped-up crowd of 23,133 that was buzzing on almost every Kopech pitch but the confident Texan looked like more of a pitcher and less of a thrower the Sox saw during spring training. I was able to use every pitch I have and was able to throw them all for strikes, Kopech said. Michael Kopech pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning in his MLB debut game at Guaranteed Rate Field on August 21, 2018 in Chicago. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) Dripping with sweat on a not-so-hot but humid night, Kopech threw some unhittable sliders with depth and spotted his changeup nicely a time or two, as well as moving a running fastball around the strike zone. He used them all to bring the liveliest crowd of the season to its feet whenever he got to two strikes. I didn t know how many people would be here, said Kopech, who was cheered before, during and after his warmup and throughout his outing. It was exciting to see how invested the fans were. A standing ovation every time I had two strikes made me feel like I was in a big-time game. It was a big-time game for me. Kopech finished off Miguel Sano, Logan Forsythe, Jake Cave and Joe Mauer with strikeouts. And then the rain finished off Kopech. I was a little bummed out, Kopech said. I wanted to go deeper. But either way, I got to experience the debut, and it was a dream come true. The rain started after Kopech got Mauer looking at a letter-high fastball a pitch Mauer disputed with CB Bucknor and lasted 52 minutes before play resumed. The Sox were cautious with their prized righty, lifting him from the game after two innings rather than risk sending him back out after a cooldown. Kopech allowed no runs and three hits. He hit one batter and walked none. Thirty-five of his 52 pitches were for strikes. That I was able to throw the changeup with good command, good action and have them swing over it was probably the highlight of my night, Kopech said. That s something that was a big part of my development. After the delay, Nicky Delmonico homered to center against Twins righty Jose Berrios who returned after the rain leading off the bottom of the second to make it 1-0. The Twins scored two against Luis Avilan to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth, one of the runs scoring when Yoan Moncada poorly executed a rundown between first base and second with a runner on third. Moncada tied it with his 16th homer and only his second right-handed but the Twins scored three in the ninth. Kopech earned a passing grade for his debut but one he d call an incomplete with only two innings. The Sox clubhouse, filled with more media than it has seen all season short of Opening Day, buzzed with anticipation before the game. I thought he was unbelievable, said bench coach Joe McEwing, filling in for ailing manager Rick Renteria. Across the board, not just stuff-wise, he was in control throughout. The crowd wants to see him strike everybody out, which is unreasonable. He showed maturity compared to where he was in spring training. There is more to come, and it will be worth watching. The Sox are counting on Kopech to line up on top of their rotation with Carlos Rodon in the coming years.

16 This is just the first step, general manager Rick Hahn said. We expect him to continue to build off the success he s had in recent weeks. Kopech s next start is scheduled for Sunday in Detroit. White Sox super-prospect Michael Kopech s stuff dazzles in brief, memorable debut By James Fegan / The Athletic / August 22, 2018 At least you saw what all the fuss is about. A 52-minute rain delay a sudden downpour followed by some nagging misting that kept the tarp on just long enough to remove all doubt that the White Sox would be cautious ended Michael Kopech s day after just two scoreless innings of work. Poor Luis Avilán entered his home park to a smattering of boos. With Kopech s pitch count at 52, Mother Nature can be blamed for a wildly unpopular early hook exercised by acting manager Joe McEwing. Filling in for Rick Renteria for the second series this season, McEwing will likely be at the helm on Wednesday too, given Renteria is due to undergo more tests at RUSH University Medical Center after being released from the hospital in Minneapolis on Tuesday. We were checking on the time, McEwing said. We didn t want to push it. That first time out, we thought, amazing job, get that first one out of the way. He was up to 52 pitches, and with the rain lasting almost an hour and delaying an hour, we were like, Hey, let s shut him down here and end on a positive note. Instead of seeing what a Twins lineup stacked with lefties that went as far back to high school video in their advance scouting and were dead set on spoiling pitches (16 foul balls!) could do on its second look, Kopech powering his way through two jams with brilliant stuff (2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) will be preserved as a perfect memory until Sunday at Detroit. He has yet to walk a big league hitter and has a 0.00 ERA and an 18 K/9 until then. And considering the Tigers have one of the worst offenses in baseball, who is to say for certain that will change? After an elaborate stretching routine and a bullpen warmup that drew a regular interval of ooohs from a gathered crowd, Kopech was drenched in sweat by the time he made his walk to the dugout, and he took several seconds to bury his face in his glove before trotting out to the mound. But rather than bottle up any debut jitters into a 100-plus-mph heater to the backstop, Kopech was pounding the zone and sitting at a controlled mph from the start. After my lips stopped quivering, I got through that, I just treated it like another outing, Kopech said. That s big for me knowing that I can still do what I did in Charlotte at this level. I m excited about the next upcoming start, just to see how well I do going deep into the game. I m just going to throw all my pitches. I was able to use every pitch I have today and for the most part throw them all for strikes. I m just going to continue to build off of that. One of his hardest pitches of the night an 0-1, 97.5-mph heater to Joe Mauer was grounded through the middle for a leadoff single, and it was quickly followed by Eddie Rosario poking a curve into right field to place Kopech in a first-and-third, nobody-out jam to start his big league career. The crowd moaned, and the buzz in the stadium waned just a bit, but rather than falter as his debut went awry, Kopech went to work. I thought he held his composure, McEwing said. And after the first-and-third, nobody out, being able to gather himself and get out of that situation, it shows the maturity that he has grown throughout the year, from the first day of spring training when we saw him until now. It s definitely a plus to player development and the Triple-A staff for guiding him along and quickening his progression. He struck out Miguel Sano with a good slider down and away, but mostly he pitched like someone who knows what his best asset is: a truly elite heater. Max Kepler popped out to end the inning on a fastball