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.
MLB
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.