Condensing, expanding and sharing the old @SoxNerd notebook …
Hopefully history repeats: Fireballer Michael Kopech makes his second career start and first on the road today for the White Sox in Detroit.
Do you know what Sox phenom and highly-touted and much-anticipated prospect Wilson Alvarez did in his second career start, which was also his first career road start on a Sunday afternoon in August?
HE THREW A NO-HITTER!
On Aug. 11, 1991 in Baltimore, Alvarez made his Sox debut by becoming the first Venezuelan, Sox rookie and lefty to toss a no-hitter in a 7-0 win at Memorial Stadium.
That’s a sweet little coincidence, don’t you think?
*Crazy: The Milwaukee Brewers won in miraculous fashion on Friday night/Saturday morning with a relief pitcher scoring the deciding run in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The last time the Sox had a reliever score a walkoff run in overtime was when on Aug. 5, 1962 when Juan Pizarro crossed on Mike Hershberger’s 13th inning single in a 3-2 win over the Yankees before 44,444 at Comiskey Park.
*2 few: Kopech’s much-anticipated Major League debut Tuesday was cut short by the rain after two innings.
Prior to Kopech, the last Sox starter to go fewer than two innings in his MLB debut was Rich Barnes, who gave up six runs in 1.2 innings to the Brewers on July 18, 1982.
*The Pitts: White Sox catcher Kevan Smith hit his fifth career home run on Saturday. That tied him with Art Griggs for fourth all-time among Pitt products. … Dick Hoblitzell is tops among Pitt products with 27 bombs.
*Memories: On this date (Aug. 26) in 1925, Red Faber held Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hitless in eight at bats in the White Sox 1-0 win over the Yankees at Comiskey Park. Willie Kamm’s double in the second scored Harry Hooper in the 12th to win it.
*Quick work: On Friday, Thyago Vieira became the first Sox pitcher since the late Daniel Webb on April 15, 2014 to retire the only batter he faced and earn his first big league win.
Webb used one pitch while Vieira used two.
*Memories II: On this date (Aug. 26) in 1935, Zeke Bonura’s straight steal of home in the 15th sent the White Sox to a 9-8 win over the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park. Bonura’s fourth career steal came after Luke Appling scored the equalizer on a fielder’s choice earlier in the frame.
*Long-man Hector: On Aug. 19, Hector Santiago went four innings in relief and got a win.
That day Santiago
… turned in the longest by a Sox reliever since Dylan Axelrod went five innings on Sept. 12, 2013
… was the first Sox reliever to throw at least four shutout innings for a win since Jake Peavy on June 25, 2011 vs. the Nationals
… was the first Sox lefty reliever to throw at least four shutout innings for a win since Greg Hibbard on Sept. 7, 1991 at Texas
… was the first Sox lefty reliever to throw at least four shutout innings for a win at home since Wayne Edwards on Sept. 27, 1990 vs. the Brewers
*Southpaw saves: The since-departed Luis Avilan and rookie Jace Fry are the first Sox lefties with more than one save since Santiago had four and Matt Thornton had three in 2012.
*Top of the order: When Nicky Delmonico hit leadoff on Aug. 15 at Detroit, he became the first Sox first baseman to hit there since Brent Lillibridge on June 17, 2012
*Bottom of the order: On Aug. 12, Adam Engel joined Omar Narvaez (July 29, 2018), Tyler Flowers (Aug. 4, 2014) and Mark Teahen (April 12, 2010) as the only ninth place hitters in Sox history with a single, triple and homer in a game
*Michigan man: When RyanLa Marre homered Aug. 14, he became the first University of Michigan product to homer for the White Sox since Chris Getz went deep on July 9, 2008
That blast was also the first by a Sox Michigan native (Royal Oak) since Tom Paciorek (Detroit) touched ’em all at Tiger Stadium on Aug. 8, 1983
With Michael Kopech up from the minors and poised to wow a yearning fanbase tonight, here’s a look at White Sox Major League pitching debuts … 
No way anyone saw this coming.
1937, THE STRATTON SPLIT: The White Sox split a doubleheader with the Yankees before 50,000 at Comiskey Park. The Yankees took the opener 12-11 behind two homers from Bill Dickey and a game-winner from Joe DiMaggio. The Sox took the nightcap scoring three in the eighth and one in the ninth with Monty Stratton, who was later portrayed in a movie by Jimmy Stewart, getting the victory.
1943, A WIN AND THEN SOME GOOD NEWS: After the White Sox won the first game 2-1, the nightcap of their doubleheader was interrupted with the announcement at “Mussolini has resigned.” The crowd of 19,374 cheered wildly over the news that the Italian dictator was finished. The Yankees won the game 6-3 after Bill Dietrich got the victory for the Sox in Game 1.
1954, 16 Ks SO HE WAS HARSH, MAN: Jack Harshman set the club record with 16 strikeouts in the White Sox 5-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader sweep at Boston. Harshman gave up two runs on five hits and five walks in improving to 7-4. Harshman, a lefty, broke the record previously held by Ed Cicotte (Aug. 26, 1914), Jim Scott (June 22, 1913) and Ed Walsh (Aug. 11, 1910 and Oct. 2, 1908). He struck out at least one batter in every inning but the eighth and he whiffed the side in order in the second and seventh innings and also in the fourth.
1972, ALL-STAR ALLEN: Dick Allen started at first base in becoming the first Sox representative to bat cleanup in an All-Star Game. Allen went 0-for-3 in the American League’s 4-3 loss in in Atlanta.
1987, NOs. 16 & 19 FOREVER: On the day No. 16 was retired for Hall of Famer Ted Lyons and No. 19 was retired for team legened Billy Pierce, the White Sox topped the Yankees 3-2 before 26,433 at Comiskey Park.
In my prior life, I was Sports Editor of the Kenosha News.