Kopech survives a shaky ninth inning in Game 3 of the World Series

Former White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech was called upon in the ninth inning to win Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night. The inning was a little more eventful than Kopech and the Dodgers imagined.

With the Dodgers holding a commanding 4-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Dave Roberts handed the ball to Kopech to face the bottom half of the Yankees lineup. The inning got off to a good start. Kopech set up Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe with three consecutive four-seam fastballs to take a 2-1 lead before knocking him off balance with a high slider for a strikeout.

Kopech returned to the fastball against Anthony Rizzo but couldn't find it, walking the left-handed first baseman on five pitches. A wild pitch then put Rizzo in scoring position. Kopech responded by releasing Austin Wells' bat with a soft pop-out.

But with only one out needed to win Game 3, the Yankees applied the pressure. Alex Verdugo took a 99 mph fastball to the inside corner for the first strikeout. Then he watched a 100 mph fastball fly over the middle of the plate for strike two. He wasn't fooled by the third fastball. Kopech tried to sneak past him and failed because of a 100.2 mph heater. Koepch tried to go back to the fastball again, but Verdugo blasted it into right field for a two-run home run. Although he cut the Dodgers' lead in half, Kopech got the honor of securing the final out five pitches later when he retired Gleyber Torres with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball.

It's still a little strange for White Sox fans to see Kopech play in a World Series in the same year he completes games for a 41-win White Sox team. But to Kopech's credit, he took advantage of the opportunity to play for a competitor and is now just one game away from winning a ring.