White Sox's Michael Kopech: Start cut short by apparent injury

Kopech was lifted midway through the first inning of his start Monday against the Royals due to an apparent injury he suffered while warming up prior to the game, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.

Kopech failed to retire a batter in the 19-pitch outing, throwing only nine pitches for strikes while allowing four earned runs on one hit, two walks and a hit batsman. Official word on what prompted Kopech's early exit may not come until after the game, but the right-hander looked to be in some discomfort while warming up and was visited by a trainer on the mound before he ultimately tried to give it a go. In addition to his velocity being down during his brief start, Kopech struggled mightily to locate his pitches before manager Tony La Russa pulled him from the contest.