Kansas City Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch couldn’t get out of the first inning the first time he faced the Chicago White Sox.
He’s been much better the last two times.
Lynch will try to continue his recent domination of the White Sox when he takes the mound in a make-up game on Monday afternoon in Kansas City.
Lynch (4-8, 4.52 ERA) threw six shutout innings in Chicago on April 26 and earned the win in the 6-0 victory.
He faced the White Sox in Chicago again on Aug. 1 and blanked them for 5 1/3 innings, this time in a 2-1 win.
He’s 3-2 against the White Sox in his career and his ERA still sits at 6.86 as a result of the eight runs he allowed against Chicago in two-thirds of an inning on May 8, 2021.
Lynch would like to have more consistency with his starts, something that continues to elude him this season.
He’s had five starts this season in which he pitched at least five innings and didn’t allow an earned run, including two this month, but six other starts in which he surrendered at least four earned runs.
After blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers for five innings in an 8-3 loss on Aug. 12, Lynch gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings of a 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
“As I get older and continue to progress and improve, I kind of want that to be, when my stuff’s not good, that’s the outing I want (it) to look like,” he said. “Get deeper in the game, save the bullpen and still give us a chance.”
The White Sox did not play their series finale on Sunday at the Cleveland Guardians because of unplayable field conditions.
Dylan Cease was set to pitch on Sunday, but instead he’ll start on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Michael Kopech (4-9, 3.25) remains the scheduled starter for the White Sox on Monday.
Kopech is 0-3 in four starts this month, but the White Sox have combined for just five runs in those games.
He had a decent outing in his last start on Wednesday against the visiting Houston Astros, but the three runs he allowed in six innings were too much for the offense to overcome in the 3-2 loss.
“A team like (the Astros), we know what they’re capable of, so three runs can tend to be too much like it was (Wednesday),” Kopech said. “I made some mistakes that I think could have been avoided and could have limited those three runs to less than that. But I can’t turn back the clock.”
Kopech was matched against Lynch on Aug. 1 and allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings. His only mistakes in the 2-1 loss were solo home runs by Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield.
Kopech also faced Kansas City on April 28 and gave up two runs and three hits in five innings of a 5-2 loss in 10 innings.
He has made nine appearances overall against the Royals, including three starts, and is 0-1 with a 4.01 ERA.
The White Sox placed catcher/designated hitter Yasmani Grandal on the 10-day injured list with a left knee strain, which occurred on Saturday night.
Chicago reported on Sunday that further examination of Grandal’s knee revealed no acute damage to the ligaments, tendons or cartilage around the knee, and he’s projected to return in 10-14 days.
–Field Level Media