Six batters in, Steve Stone and Jason Benetti locked eyes in the White Sox broadcast booth. The look meant this could be a special game.
Reynaldo Lopez had just fired a four-seam fastball past Tigers (and former Sox) infielder Gordon Beckham for strikeout No. 4.
“How they were reacting to the fastball told you everything you needed to know about it,” Stone said Monday. “He was beating all of them with it.”
Here is how Stone and Benetti called two of Lopez’s career-high 14 strikeouts. It was the highest total for a Sox pitcher since Chris Sake whiffed 14 Mariners on Aug.