CHICAGO (AP) - Michael Kopech wasn’t sharp and the Tigers took full advantage of the Chicago White Sox’s prized pitching prospect.
Ronny Rodriguez had a two-run homer and Jeimer Candelario, Mikie Mahtook and JaCoby Jones each added a solo shot, powering Detroit to a 10-2 rout of the White Sox and Kopech on Wednesday night.
The game was delayed twice by rain for a total of an hour and one minute.
Nicholas Castellanos went 3 for 4 with a walk and an RBI and Victor Martinez had a two-run single as Detroit pounded out 16 hits and won for the eighth time in nine games at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“He got some pitches up and we didn’t miss ’em,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We hit some balls pretty hard off him. The kid, he’s a good pitcher. He’s got good stuff.”
Kopech had allowed just one run in 11 innings in his first three starts in the majors, including two home starts cut short by rain delays. He returned after a short delay on Wednesday and probably wished he hadn’t.
Kopech (1-1) was tagged for seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck six, walked one and surrendered all four Detroit homers as his ERA jumped from 0.82 to 5.02.
It was a far cry from his effort at Detroit on Aug. 26 when he allowed one run on seven hits in six innings for his first win.
“I didn’t pitch well; that was the gist of it,” Kopech said.
Jordan Zimmermann (7-6) allowed just two hits in five shutout innings and returned following both delays.
“It was a grind of a game for me,” Zimmermann said. “Two rain delays and we had that one really long inning where we scored all those runs. It’s tough. I’m happy to go five and we got the win.
“After they scored all those runs, I definitely wanted to get through five.”
Candelario led off the game with a 433-foot homer to set the tone.
Following a 28-minute delay in the bottom of the second, Kopech made quick work of the Tigers in third. The fourth was a different story.
Mahtook, who has homered in back-to-back games, led off with a long blast to left estimated at 455 feet. After James McCann singled, Rodriguez homered to make it 4-0 and Jones followed with a solo blast. It was the second time this season the Tigers have gone back-to-back. Martinez and Niko Goodrum did it on Aug. 30 against the Yankees in New York.
After Dawel Lugo doubled, Kopech struck out Candelario for the first out. The rally, though, wasn’t finished. Jim Adduci doubled to plate Lugo for a 6-0 lead and chase Kopech. Castellanos singled off reliever Dylan Covey to score Adduci to cap the six-run inning.
Following a 33-minute delay in the top of the fifth, the Tigers added three in the sixth to make it 10-0, and Chicago added two unearned runs in the seventh.
ON THE MEND
A 32-year-old Chicago man whose nose was broken by a foul ball during Tuesday’s game was back home Wednesday. The White Sox said the fan was released from the hospital and recovering.
The man was injured in the ninth inning on Tuesday. He was seated in the first row on the first base side, well beyond the netting that extends to the end of the camera box past the dugout, when a line drive by Candelario hit him in the face.
The man bled profusely and was treated at his seat for several minutes as play was stopped. He later walked to the first-aid station and was taken to Rush University Medical Center.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: RF Avisail Garcia missed a fourth straight game with right knee soreness. Although surgery is planned after the season, Garcia plans to return to the lineup when the pain subsides. “He can’t injure it anymore, damage it anymore,” manager Rick Renteria said. ’It’s just a matter of him being able to manage some of the discomfort.”
UP NEXT
Tigers: After a day off, LHP Daniel Norris (0-3, 5.49 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of a three-game home series against St. Louis on Friday night. LHP Austin Gomber (5-0, 2.77) goes for the Cardinals.
White Sox: Following a day off on Thursday, LHP Carlos Rodon (6-4, 2.89 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game home series against the Angels and RHP Felix Pena (1-4, 4.19) on Friday night.
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