Gamethread: White Sox at Pirates

Michael Kopech looks to bounce back, while the offense looks to stay hot, in series finale

Happy Sunday and Easter to all who celebrate! Today, the Chicago White Sox will play their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, as they look to take the series with a win. Michael Kopech will be on the mound looking to redeem himself from his last start, as he goes against Bucs righty Johan Oviedo. The offense looks to stay hot as well.

Kopech didn’t have the best start at the Home Opener on Monday. He went 4 2⁄3 innings with eight hits, seven runs, three walks, five strikeouts — and five home runs. His ERA currently sits at ... 13.50. Let’s hope he can start to shave that down today. Overall, I don’t think it is a cause for concern just yet, but then again, you never know with this team. The most important thing for Kopech is that he has movement on his pitches and keeps his control. He relies on four pitches, his fastball being used the most at 56%. He follows with his slider (22%), changeup (16.5%), and curveball (5.5%).

Oviedo is on the mound for the Pirates, who pitched 4 2⁄3 innings his first game with six hits, four runs, four walks, and four strikeouts. Oviedo was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals last season in the José Quintana trade, and was initially a reliever. Last season, the team experimented with him in the starting rotation, and decided that would be the place for him moving forward. After spending some time in the minor leagues in 2022, Oviedo is up in the MLB as a starter and hopes to be consistent enough to keep that spot. He goes into this game with a 7.71 ERA and 2.14 WHIP. His most used pitch is his slider at 45.7%. He follows with his fastball (27.7%), curveball (21.3%), and changeup (5.3%).

Red-hot Luis Robert Jr. will get the day off this afternoon.

Tim Anderson leads it off, as Andrew Benintendi follows. Andrew Vaughn is at first, followed by Yoán Moncada at third. Gavin Sheets is the DH as Oscar Colás takes center field and Romy González takes right field. Seby Zavala is behind the plate and Elvis Andrus is at second base.

Game time is at 12:35 p.m. CT. Watch on NBCSCHI and listen in at ESPN-AM 1000. I’ll be back with your recap, Malachi Hayes has the Six Pack, and Ryiin rolls with the Bird App.