Notes: Rotation creativity; Kopech cruising

KANSAS CITY – The White Sox list “TBA” as their probable starting pitcher for all three of this weekend’s games against Cleveland at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Lance Lynn is expected to go Friday, and Dallas Keuchel should get the start Saturday. Dylan Cease follows in the series finale if the White Sox stay in rotation, but manager Tony La Russa talked during Wednesday’s pregame about keeping his starters fresh into October much as the team did throughout the season’s first half.

“Everyone is feeling good. The key is we want them to continue feeling good,” La Russa said. “We want to take a fresh look at it because of [Monday’s] off-day.

“Everybody will get a day but is there something we can do that’s more creative? We are going to really look hard at how the next couple of three games go.”

Cease allowed two earned runs over six innings in Tuesday’s come-from-behind victory, raising his overall total to 108 2/3 innings pitched. The right-hander’s previous Major League high came in 2019 when he threw 73 innings, although Cease had commented recently about feeling strong and at 25, being made to go the distance in the second half.

Carlos Rodón, the starter Thursday afternoon and a prime American League Cy Young contender, has gone 100 2/3 innings this season and surpassed 100 for the first time since 2018 after throwing 42 1/3 combined innings in 2019-20. So the plan also covers taking care of the talented southpaw, who made his first seven starts with more than the regular four days off in between trips to the mound.

“The key is try to stay ahead of an issue,” La Russa said. “And one reason that we are speaking now with good health is that we were careful in that first half. But August is a test. We just want to be creative and maintain fresh healthy arms however possible.”

Kopech continues cruising
Michael Kopech could be one of the Sunday starting options for the White Sox, if he’s not needed in a setup role any of the next four games. Kopech has recorded more than three outs in just one of his eight outings since returning from the injured list for a left hamstring strain, so it would be more of a bullpen day if the right-hander were to start at this point.

But he continues pure mound dominance, with 14 strikeouts and one run allowed in nine innings. Kopech pitched the eighth Tuesday after Eloy Jiménez’s three-run home run put the White Sox ahead in the top of the frame and struck out Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana and Salvador Perez.

“I used the potential analogy of Adam Wainwright in '06, and that's exactly what he's become,” said La Russa of Kopech. “He's not just a starter in training, he's gotten to where he is one of our prime-time guys with the lead. Not only is that really a win for us, but it’s also really a win for him because he's piling up game experiences where the game's on the line.

“Like yesterday, you get the dramatic home run, and the shutdown is really hard, and he strikes out three guys right at the top of the lineup. That will benefit him in this role here at the end and it's going to have terrific benefits for him when he becomes a starting pitcher because pitching under pressure, concentrating, executing, whether you're a pitcher or a hitter, that's where the winning production comes from.”

Third to first
• La Russa isn’t basing an increase in excitement on the White Sox making a move before Friday’s 3 p.m. CT Trade Deadline.

“I’m excited enough we are in contention getting into the fifth month of the season. Don’t need any more excitement. It’s plenty of excitement,” La Russa said. “If the front office decides there’s something, then they will make a move and we’ll embrace it. If they don’t, we go with what we’ve got.”

• The White Sox are 24-2 when hitting multiple home runs this season, the best winning percentage in baseball.

They Said It
“Well, we are not taking October for granted. I want to make sure the baseball gods understand that that is not a reason. But to have a chance to play in October, we need to finish strong, we need to finish healthy.” -- La Russa, making clear how the team is thinking about resting starters to take care of them and not because they are assuming a playoff berth with a nine-game lead over Cleveland entering Wednesday night.

“He played great defense. He made a couple really tough plays. If he can give us that on a daily basis, I mean, our team's looking good.” -- Cease on Jiménez’s defense Tuesday.