DETROIT _ Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria praised Reynaldo Lopez's demeanor in the face of adversity Saturday afternoon, and Lopez then had to prove it Saturday night against the Tigers while battling a bothersome head cold.
Lopez worked around traffic from the second through sixth innings but still managed to pull out a victory in a 10-4 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Lopez allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks but stranded runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. His night ended with a perfect seventh inning.
"It was a constant battle for me because I wasn't feeling good, and I think under the circumstances, it was a very good outing," Lopez said through a team interpreter. "I'm proud of myself because I was able to fight through that."
James McCann had a two-run triple in the second and Mikie Mahtook ended a 14-pitch at-bat with an RBI triple in the fourth for the only run-scoring hits off Lopez. He didn't record a strikeout until he got Alex Presley swinging for the second out of the seventh.
"In the second inning I lost my focus a little bit and that was why I was struggling," Lopez said. "I was mad at myself because I wasn't executing my pitches. But then (Yolmer) Sanchez talked to me. He knew I was a little off, and I tried to regroup and regain my focus."
The young Sox starting pitchers have been on fire lately, with Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Carson Fulmer recording eight quality starts in their previous nine games entering Saturday.
This was the first time in the last four outings Lopez hasn't recorded a quality start, but Renteria commended him for staying composed and keeping his pitch count down.
"He shows a tremendous sense of maturity," Renteria said. "He's kind of a fiery guy, even though he's really quiet. You guys see him on the mound and he's just quiet, but he internally he has some drive."
The young Sox hitters came through to boost Lopez, helping to drive Tigers starter Myles Jaye from the game after he gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Nicky Delmonico and Matt Davidson homered in the first and fifth innings, respectively. Yoan Moncada continued an eight-game hitting streak by going 2-for-6 with two RBIs. Tim Anderson had a career-high four hits and scored two runs, also extending his hitting streak to eight games.
And Jose Abreu got in on the action when he added his 96th and 97th RBIs.
"We're just going out and having fun," Anderson said. "We're putting everything we have on the table and seeing what happens."
