You could have almost felt sorry for Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech Friday night. He walked two and hit one of the three hitters he faced in the first inning to start the second part of the season.
It was against the Atlanta Braves, a team that had the best offense in baseball, averaging 5.6 runs per game. There was no way Kopech felt confident of getting out of that inning alive, not against a team that had hit a home run in a franchise-record 26 consecutive games.
Sure enough, on Kopech’s second pitch to the fourth batter, National League home run leader Matt Olson, that stretch was extended.