Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech searching for consistency after Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians – The Denver Post

Michael Kopech began the second inning of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians by walking Oscar Gonzalez.

The Chicago White Sox starter retired the next two batters, but walked the following two to load the bases for Andrés Giménez.

Kopech threw four straight balls, bringing home a run. He avoided any more trouble, striking out José Ramírez to end the inning.

Kopech later described his outing in the 5-0 loss as “pretty pathetic” as he continues his search for consistency.

“I’ve been trying to bounce back from outings all year and haven’t been consistent,” Kopech said. “Today was not an exception to that. I’m trying to figure things out and (I’m) not doing a great job putting this team in a good position to win. There’s a lot to assess and a lot to figure out.”

The right-hander allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and five walks in five innings. He didn’t walk any batters after the second inning, but gave up solo home runs to Steven Kwan and Ramírez in the fifth.

Kopech exited after throwing 93 pitches.

“I’ve got to just find a groove to take one good inning to the next,” Kopech said. “That starts one pitch at a time. Right now when a pitch gets away from me I’m looking to fight myself back into it instead of just trusting the stuff.”

Kopech walked at least five batters in a game for the fifth time this season.

“I think his first pitch strikes were 8 out of 23, and his 2-out-of-3 (strikes to a batter) was 7 out of 18, and that’s just a difficult way to try to navigate through a lineup like that one,” manager Pedro Grifol said.

Kopech is 4-10 with a 4.49 ERA in 20 starts.

Grifol’s conversations with Kopech have been about remaining positive.

“Sometimes when you battle through some adversity like this, you forget about the successes that you’ve had in this game, at this level. I’m not talking about he’s had some success in the minor leagues, he’s had it here (in the majors) against some really good teams,” Grifol said. “So my conversations with him are always on the positive side. Go out there and have some fun.

“You’ve prepared yourself. Just go out there and enjoy that and compete. Compete your ass off there and don’t lose that edge. On the mechanical side and mental side, that’s (pitching coach) Ethan (Katz) and (bullpen coach Curt Hasler) that have it consistently with him. They do a good job of preparing for the game. He’s just got to go out there and really enjoy pitching and not put so much pressure on himself.”

Grifol continued: “We’ve all seen him go out there and just have a lot of fun and be electric. So we’ve got to get him to that point. He’s an important piece moving forward and we’ve got to get him to that point consistently.”

Before the game, Katz discussed Kopech’s continued development.

“It’s been a developmental year, but it’s a developmental time for everybody in the big leagues,” Katz said. “Everybody’s trying to develop, evolve, whether you’re Lance Lynn adding pitches and doing stuff like that or Michael Kopech. There’s things that pop up every single day that you can learn from, and there’s a lot of steps that he is learning from.

“His routine’s gotten better and better. The way he goes about his business is better and better. So it’s just constantly trying to teach him and get him to understand everything he needs to do and understanding hitters more. He’s doing a great job with all that.”

Kopech said he’s trying to remain even-keeled.

“Try not to get too high or too low,” he said. “Still remember that it’s a game we get to play for a living. Still very grateful to be out on the field. Unfortunately I’m just not getting the results I need right now.”

With Sunday’s loss in front of 28,096 at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox split the four-game series with the Guardians.

Ramírez homered twice. He hit the solo home run in the fifth against Kopech and a two-run homer in the seventh against Declan Cronin.

A 36th-round selection in the 2019 draft, Cronin allowed two runs on one hit with one walk in two innings in his big-league debut. Edgar Navarro also made his major-league debut, allowing two hits and striking out two in a scoreless inning.

The evaluation will continue as the Sox look toward the future.

“There are guys in there competing for a job next year,” Grifol said. “Everybody is getting evaluated here.”

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