Kopech earned a save against the Guardians on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over 1.1 innings. Kopech's save against Tampa Bay on Wednesday was relatively stress-free, as he entered with a three-run lead. That wasn't the case Thursday -- Kopech was asked to put out a fire in the bottom of the eighth frame after Cleveland slugged back-to-back homers to get to within a run. The right-hander retired David Fry in that inning to quell Cleveland's momentum, then worked around a one-out single in the ninth to finish off the save. The White Sox are among the worst teams in the majors this season, so Kopech may not have as many save opportunities as closers on contenders, but he's emerged the Chicago's clear go-to ninth-inning option with a save in consecutive contests.
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Kopech earned a save against the Guardians on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over 1.1 innings. Kopech's save against Tampa Bay on Wednesday was relatively stress-free, as he entered with a three-run lead. That wasn't the case Thursday -- Kopech was asked to put out a fire in the bottom of the eighth frame after Cleveland slugged back-to-back homers to get to within a run. The right-hander retired David Fry in that inning to quell Cleveland's momentum, then worked around a one-out single in the ninth to finish off the save. The White Sox are among the worst teams in the majors this season, so Kopech may not have as many save opportunities as closers on contenders, but he's emerged the Chicago's clear go-to ninth-inning option with a save in consecutive contests.
Fedde (3-0) earned the win over Cleveland on Thursday, allowing six hits and striking out three batters over six scoreless innings. It appeared Fedde's surprising effectiveness to begin the campaign could be coming to an end after he gave up five runs over 4.1 frames versus St. Louis his last time out, but he rebounded strongly with six scoreless innings Thursday. All six hits against the right-hander were singles, but he did need a little help to escape without a run on his ledger, as Jordan Leasure held off the Guardians after relieving Fedde with no outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning. Fedde's poor career track record provides a logical reason for fantasy managers to question how long he can keep pitching well, but he's exceeded expectations so far with a 3.00 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 44:14 K:BB through 45 innings covering eight starts.
Lee isn't in the White Sox's lineup Thursday against the Guardians. Lee will take a seat for the second game in a row Thursday despite recording a hit in three of his last four games. Martin Maldonado will start behind the plate instead and bat ninth.
Vaughn went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk Wednesday against the Rays. Vaughn collected multiple hits for the first time in his last seven starts, during which he's gone just for 5-for-25 with two doubles. He's gotten off to a slow start to the season overall by hitting .192 across 142 plate appearances and also has an inflated 26.1 percent strikeout rate.
DeJong went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Wednesday's 4-1 victory versus the Rays. DeJong accounted for half of Chicago's runs with his two-run blast to left field in the fifth inning. It was the second straight contest with a long ball for the veteran shortstop following a 16-game homerless drought. DeJong has multiple hits in three of his past four games and has gone 6-for-15 with four RBI, five runs and four extra-base hits over that stretch.
Kopech registered a save against the Rays on Wednesday, allowing one hit in one scoreless inning. Kopech had a relatively easy time closing things out with a three-run lead Wednesday -- though he gave up a one-out infield single, the right-hander got the next batter to ground into a game-ending double play. It was the third save of the season for Kopech, though his most recent save prior to Wednesday came all the way back on April 9. Four different pitchers have notched a save for the White Sox this season, but Kopech appears to be the team's primary closer, as he's the only one among the four with multiple save conversions.
Flexen (2-3) earned the victory against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight batters over six innings. Flexen isn't usually much of a strikeout pitcher, but he fanned eight Rays in the win, doubling his previous season-high mark. In addition, the right-hander notched his second quality start of the campaign and extended his streak of outings with two or fewer runs to five. After giving up 13 earned runs over his first 13.1 frames this season, Flexen has turned things around dramatically, posting a 1.61 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 18:7 K:BB over 22.1 innings across his subsequent five appearances.
Lopez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays. Lopez recently overcame a sore adductor and started at second base in the first two contests of the series in Tampa, going 2-for-7 at the plate. The White Sox haven't indicated that Lopez suffered a setback with the injury, so his absence Wednesday is presumably maintenance-related.
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