Retired in Chicago

A spectrum of concern was cast over the White Sox after Michael Kopech’s first-inning struggles Sunday were compounded by his tardiness in covering first base for the first out of the second inning.

But after convincing manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Ethan Katzand a trainer that his right knee was healthy enough to remain in the game, Kopech provided enough quality with creativity and guile.

“I’ll give you an explanation that was given to me when it’s appropriate, I use it,” La Russa said. “You really want to be a productive winner, player, pitcher, there’s a huge box that you gotta check beyond the talent. It’s guts.”

Despite early control issues and a noticeable dip in velocity, Kopech pitched 5 1/3 innings of four-hit ball that allowed the Sox to rally for a 4-2 victory over the Tigers.

“Absolutely, I didn’t have my best stuff,” said Kopech, who threw his first five pitches for balls before Javy Baez hit his next pitch for a two-run homer. “Probably one of the games where I consider having my worst stuff.”

Kopech’s fastball topped out at 94 mph, about five mph slower than what he usually touches. So he leaned more on his slider and cut fastball that worked effectively.

“Working with what you got, you got to get as deep as you can to give your team a chance to win,” Kopech said. “I didn’t get super deep, but I felt like I was able to fight with what I had.”

Kopech hurt his right knee one month ago, so the Sox were concerned when he was late in covering first on a grounder by Robbie Grossman. But Kopech needed only one warmup pitch to convince them he was fine.

“When I’m out there, I don’t feel it so it’s working with what I have that day,” Kopech said. “If it’s affecting me, I don’t notice it in that moment. I’m giving what I have that day.”

Anderson lone All-Star, for now

No Sox players or pitchers were selected to the American League All-Star team, leaving shortstop Tim Anderson as the lone representative to the July 19 Midseason Classic at Dodger Stadium.

The biggest omission was pitcher Dylan Cease, who was second with 133 strikeouts and fourth with a 2.45 ERA. Cease and other players, however, could be added if other players selected decline to play.

All about the legs

Luis Robert and other Sox players were told last month to not exert themselves on outs to protect their legs from further injury.

But Robert didn’t let up Sunday as he hustled into second base on a dropped fly by Grossman and scored the go-ahead run.

Afterwards, La Russa clarified the distinction.

“Here and again there have been conversations about not running balls out,” La Russa said. “I even heard there was one guy I respect a lot on TV who said they shouldn’t play if they can’t run the ball out.

“It’s easy for you to say. You need talent out there because they have to protect themselves. For him to run it out with the game on the line, that’s what he’s got to do.”

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LOS ANGELES – Lefty Drew Smyly was the second Cubs starter to return from the injured list in as many games.

The Cubs activated Smyly to start against the Dodgers on Sunday, in his first appearance back from a six-week stint on the 15-day IL with a strained right oblique.

The Cubs fell 11-9 to the Dodgers, completinga four-game sweep. But Smyly and right-hander Marcus Stroman’s returns this weekend bode well for a rotation that’s been shorthanded for much of the season.In a corresponding move, the Cubs optioned reliever Michael Rucker to Triple-A.

“[Smyly has] felt ahead of schedule since he started the rehab process back,” manager David Ross said of Smyly’s return from a notoriously finicky injury. “He’s a veteran guy that we put a lot of trust in, and he’s given us a ton of feedback. And it’s been nice. Been able to keep him off the 60-day, and now he’s back.”

Smyly took the mound in the bottom of the first inning with a 5-0 lead. The Cubs’ opening rally included catcher PJ Higgins’ first career grand slam.

An already long inning dragged on as Smyly allowed three runs on three hits and a leadoff walk. Smyly and Dodgers starter Julio Ur?as combined to throw 81 pitches in the first inning.

Smyly rebounded with a quick second inning, inducing ground balls for all three outs. But when he gave up a leadoff double to Dodgers star Freddie Freeman in the third, Smyly’s pitch count had climbed to 56, and Ross pulled him.

Smyly was charged with four runs in two-plus innings.

The Dodgers rallied for six runs in the third, wiping away the Cubs’ lead, and the home team never trailed again.

All-Star brothers

Catcher Willson Contreras’ family received more good news on Sunday. Two days after Contreras was named an All-Star starter, MLB announced his brother William had been voted into the All-Star Game via player balloting.

Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper, who was named an All-Star starter, will be inactive (broken thumb) for the midsummer classic. So, William Contreras, one of five Braves All-Star selections this year, will take Harper’s place in the starting lineup.

Willson and William Contreras are set to be the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Aaron and Bret Boone in 2003, the first on the same All-Star team since Roberto and Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1998, and the first in the same starting lineup since the Alomar brothers in 1992.

Madrigal exits rehab game

Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal left a rehab game with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday after one at-bat. He was serving as the designated hitter, as part of his ramp-up process.

Madrigal felt tightness in his groin Sunday, according to the Cubs, which originally landed him on the IL about a month ago. Madrigal was set to get the issue checked out in Chicago as a precautionary measure.

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Overall ratings have been leaked for the Chicago Bulls starters in NBA 2K23

With the release of NBA 2k23 only about 2 months away, fans and gamers alike are eagerly anticipating the new game, with updated rosters and overalls to reflect the past offseason. While the Bulls did not make any moves that should impact the starting lineup, fans are always excited to see how their team will stack up in the new game. Luckily for Bulls fans, we don’t need 2 more months to see how our starting lineup will look in the new game.

According to Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans, the rankings for the starting five are as follows:

Lonzo Ball: 81

After opening 2k22 with an 82 overall, Ball has declined by 1 overall after his first season in Chicago. Despite last season being his best in terms of field goal percentage, three point percentage, steals per game, and blocks per game, the Bulls’ point guard played only 35 games last season, and his slight decrease is likely due to the questions regarding his health heading into the 2022-23 campaign.

Zach LaVine: 86

LaVine opened last season at an 87 overall, and despite a season as an All-Star, the Bulls’ shooting guard’s splits did decrease slightly from the season before. His production also decreased slightly from the year before, but most of this could be due to the introduction of DeRozan as a teammate and a high-volume scorer. Lavine was able to get his rating up to an 88 by the end of last season, so a similar progression is hopefully in play for the star guard.

DeMar DeRozan: 88

DeRozan started last season as an 85 overall and by February, he was up to a 91. NBA 2k has brought the guard/forward back to Earth a little bit, but still, DeRozan is the highest rated Bull for this season. Alongside Lavine, the two create a lethal one-two scoring punch that is rivaled by few teams across the NBA. However, as a player that was at least mentioned in the MVP voting only a season ago, it is somewhat surprising to see DeRozan not break a 90 overall.

Patrick Williams: 75

Bulls’ fans seem to be some of the only people nationally that truly understand Williams’ impact, and how different the team looks when he is playing versus when he is not. Williams started last season as a 75 overall as well, eventually declining to a 74 by the end of the season, but his value, especially on the defensive end of the court, is clear to even casual viewers. As a career 40% 3pt shooter, Williams is a solid 3-and-D player, and his overall should rise as the young forward looks to go to the next level in his 3rd season.

Nikola Vucevic: 82

Vucevic was certainly, at least in 2k’s eyes, the most volatile Bulls’ starter last season, as the former Orlando Magic center started the season as an 85 overall, dropped all the way to an 81, and then rose back up to an 83 by the end of the season. Now at an 82, Vucevic struggled last year as a shooter, but still averaged a double-double with nearly 20 points. This is pretty good production out of a veteran center who may not even be the third option when the team is healthy, but as 2k showed last year, they are more than willing to increase his rating if necessary.

These leaks tell us little about the bench players who will be big in certain situations for the real-life Chicago Bulls’, such as Alex Caruso, Coby White, and even the newly acquired Andre Drummond, but for the video game team, the starting lineup average an 82.8 overall. This shows that the Bulls’ have a talented starting lineup with little to no weaknesses, but we will likely have to wait until September to see how this stacks up in the Eastern Conference and across the NBA.

Who do you think in the Bulls’ starting lineup is ranked too high or too low? Who will improve the most in game throughout the NBA season? And how do you expect this team to stack up with other starting lineups in the game?

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An eight-game, seven-day trip against the Guardians and Twins remains an ominous task.

But the inconsistent White Sox overcame an array of challenges Sunday to seize a remarkable 4-2 victory over the Tigers to help their task of eventually overtaking the Guardians and Twins not so insurmountable.

They pounced on an error by left fielder Robbie Grossman — his first after 440 errorless games — with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning, as pinch-hitter AJ Pollock hit a tie-breaking single off Gregory Soto and Eloy Jim?nez followed with an insurance RBI hit.

This came after starter Michael Kopech overcame a brutal start and a lack of his overpowering fastball to last 5 1/3 innings, and the offense produced four two-out RBI hits after being blanked for four innings by unheralded Drew Hutchison.

“Hopefully these two wins get us (momentum),” manager Tony La Russa said after the Sox (41-43) cut their deficit to one-half game behind the Guardians (41-42) and stayed five games behind the Twins (48-40) in the American League Central.

“I know because I listen to the conversations in the locker room. They know starting this week, and then what’s ahead playing the eight games in seven days. They know what a challenge that is and how deep the team is going to have to dig to compete and see how many wins we can get.”

Gavin Sheets, who hit his second homer in as many games, a tiebreaking shot off Hutchison in the sixth, concurred.

“Get after it,” said Sheets, who is batting .423 (17-47) with four doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI in his last 15 games. “We got a couple games, and then we got a four-day break. It could be a tough stretch, but we got a break coming, so there’s no reason for us not to get after it and get some wins.”

The Sox earned the victory without All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson, who rested his groin and could get a break during one of the games during Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader against the Guardians.

“You’ve just got to pay attention and communicate a lot with the coaching staff and training staff,” said La Russa, alluding to the fact that Anderson returned July 4 after missing three weeks due to his groin injury. “You play in your division, those are two-for-one games. But if the guy shouldn’t play, he shouldn’t play.”

But Luis Robert wasn’t thinking about his sore legs as he sprinted to second after Grossman’s dropped his fly in the sun and wind.

Nor was Kopech, started the game by throwing five balls before Javy Baez hit the next pitch for a two-run homer, leaving the game after he was slow to cover first base in the second and required medical attention.

“Well, there ain’t no bad win,” La Russa said. “The win Saturday (8-0) was a real good one. Coming from behind, hanging in there, because of what our pitchers did to keep us in the game and some clutch two-out hits. It’s supposed to and I think it’s just momentum is confidence.”

Kopech’s resiliency typified the Sox’s determination to regain a semblance of the “authority figure” they established in winning the 2021 AL Central, according to closer Liam Hendricks.

“Just inside this clubhouse, gain that (sense of) we are better than everybody else and we can do this,” Hendricks said. “We need to get that mindset back, and that’s something we’ve had spurts of but hasn’t really caught fire yet. I’m hoping games like Saturday and (Sunday’s) wins will help spark that fire a little bit.”

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