KANSAS CITY, Mo. — White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech left the Monday’s game against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium with a sore left knee.
The Sox said Kopech is being further evaluated.
Kopech appeared to be in discomfort after taking his warmup pitches on the mound before the bottom of the first inning and then allowed the four batters he faced to reach base.
Sox trainer James Kruk, pitching coach Ethan Katz and manager Tony La Russa went to the mound after Kopech took his warmup tosses. Kopech then gave up a walk, hit a batter, allowed a single and walked another batter.
Kopech’s fastball velocity was down a couple of ticks in the low 90s.
Kruk, Katz and La Russa came out again and Kopech was pulled in favor of Jimmy Lambert, who gave up two singles and a walk before striking out Nicky Lopez and getting rookie Drew Waters to rap into an inning-ending double play. The Royals led 4-0 after one inning.
Kopech has been dealing with a sore knee this season since he left a start against the Rangers in the first inning on June 12.
