CHICAGO -- AJ Pollock entered in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter with two on and two out in the midst of a scoreless deadlock between his White Sox and the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Making his first pinch-hit appearance of the season, the veteran outfielder wasn’t about to wait on a chance to make a difference in what turned out to be an impressive 4-0 White Sox victory.

“I’m ready to go if it’s where I want to hunt it," said Pollock, who delivered a first-pitch two-run double against southpaw reliever David Price to put the White Sox in control for good. “If not, hopefully I’m taking it. Some days it works. Some days you get quick outs. It worked out very well for us.”

Pollock jumped on an 89.6 mph cutter and laced it the opposite way, down the right-field line. His double brought home Danny Mendick and José Abreu, who had both singled off reliever Phil Bickford.

If Bickford had remained in the game, it would have been lefty Gavin Sheets facing the right-hander, but when Price was summoned by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, it was Pollock who got the call against his former club.

“It happened pretty quick. DP [Price] was warming up very quick,” Pollock said. “They were trying to ambush us there with Gavin’s spot coming up. I was hitting a lot down there [in the cage], so I was ready to go.”

“We were talking about it before the game, and I just felt that AJ was a guy who hasn’t been swinging the bat well. We know him really well. We knew we could expand on him,” said Roberts. “And David’s a neutral [splits] guy. We didn’t execute a pitch, and that’s what happens. But certainly it could have gone the other way. I wish I could change the result."

Roberts and the Dodgers know Pollock well from his three seasons with the organization, before the White Sox shipped reliever Craig Kimbrel to Los Angeles for Pollock on April 1. It was a deal benefitting both sides, a trade Pollock fully understood.

However, that sixth-inning showdown still provided some extra meaning for Pollock.

“I had a lot of intersquad battles the last few years, with COVID and the weird preseason,” Pollock said. “It’s always fun battling those guys, and it’s good to get a win against anyone. But yeah, that’s a good ballclub over there. I know that’s a tough team, [so it was] a little extra special.

“The longer you stay in this game, it’s like you take offense to everything and can easily do that [if you're traded]. But it’s a business. They had some moves they wanted to make. They’re going to look out for their ballclub, and I was excited to be on a team that’s contending. It’s just baseball.”

Jake Burger doubled home Pollock for the third run of the sixth, and after an intentional walk to Yoán Moncada, Reese McGuire singled home the fourth. Four pitches in total from Price, and Chicago had mounted a four-run rally.

This outburst made a deserved winner of Michael Kopech, who allowed one hit over six innings while striking out eight. Kopech now has four starts this season with at least five innings pitched and only one hit allowed, with the other three coming against the Yankees (twice) and the Rays.

The right-hander with a 2-2 record and 1.94 ERA seems to rise to the occasion against the best competition. The same could be said for the struggling White Sox offense on Tuesday.

“That's why I don't think anyone's been worried when we've had some struggling at times,” Kopech said. “Every day there's a possibility that we're going to jump on a guy like that, bring some guys in quickly. We're capable of a quick turnaround any moment. We showed that tonight. So that's cool."

Prior to the game, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn preached patience for his 26-27 team, which sits four games behind the Twins in the AL Central, pointing to upcoming returns from injury rehab assignments for starter Lance Lynn and outfielder Eloy Jiménez. He also had strong praise for the Dodgers, who have been the blueprint for success over the past decade, as they look for their 10th straight playoff appearance.

Hahn envisions his team getting to that same level at some point. Tuesday’s performance lends credence to that belief.

“They have been a great organization,” said Hahn of Los Angeles, concluding his feeling after a brief pause. “And hopefully we sweep their [butts].”