CHICAGO -- Pedro Grifol planned to flush San Francisco’s 12-3 thumping of his White Sox in the 2023 home opener at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“This is one of 162,” Grifol said after his first home opener as a manager.

Michael Kopech understands that philosophy, with the potential for 31 or 32 starts remaining this season if all goes well. But it wasn’t quite as easy for the talented right-hander to put away a rough mound performance.

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Kopech cruised through the first inning, striking out two, including LaMonte Wade Jr. on a changeup. But the Giants got to him for a career-high five home runs among the seven runs he allowed over 4 2/3 innings. Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada went back-to-back, then Mike Yastrzemski and David Villar went back-to-back again to account for a four-run fifth inning.

“For a starter it’s tough to say it’s one of 162 but ultimately it is,” Kopech said. “For a starter’s sample size, it’s tough to take a hit like that, especially the home opener when that feels pretty important to the fans. But we are going to put it behind us and just keep working.”

“The first inning, he threw the ball really well,” Grifol said. “The velocity was high and he looked really good. They made some adjustments on him. Whatever that was, we've got to get back to the video and see what we've got and see what we see.”

Pitch tipping will be part of what the White Sox staff is looking for.

“It’s a possibility. If it wasn’t necessarily a tip, there was something I was doing different, breaking ball to fastball,” Kopech said. “Just by the body language of the hitters, they were on everything. 

“I have enough speed difference to throw guys off, a little bit. The fact they were on everything, they saw something. Whether it was a tip or just me presenting pitches differently, they put good swings on it and it showed.”

After having right knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear at the end of the 2022 season, Kopech was brought along gradually during the course of Spring Training. He felt good about his stuff upon leaving Arizona and was ready for the season.

There’s still no issue for Kopech concerning his stuff or his physical condition -- even after Kopech allowed at least four home runs in a game for just the third time in his career. He averaged 94.4 mph on 51 four-seamers and topped out at 97.1 mph, picking up 12 swings-and-misses overall, according to Statcast.

So, there were positives to take away from an otherwise forgettable day.

“If there was a specific positive to take away from today, the changeup is better than it has ever been,” Kopech said. “I have a fourth pitch that I’m comfortable throwing. Unfortunately, the three I’ve always been comfortable throwing got hit pretty hard. It’s just going to be mixing better and taking care of what I need to take care of, which we are going to look at from all angles to figure out what that is.”

“He had a good spring, in our opinion,” Grifol said. “Everything was trending in the right direction. A loss is tough, they made the adjustments on him today. We've got to get back to the drawing board, that's it.”

The five home runs matched the most surrendered by a White Sox pitcher in a game (Reynaldo López also did it on July 27, 2018 vs. Toronto). Kopech also became the first White Sox pitcher to allow four home runs in one inning since López against Toronto.

As Grifol said, Kopech can flush it and move on to his next start against the Pirates on Sunday at PNC Park. The same can be said for the White Sox (2-3), who got a home run and a home run-saving catch from Luis Robert Jr., but finished with just five hits overall. 

“For the most part, I think the team is in a good spot,” Kopech said. “Guys have been swinging it well, and with the exception of today, starters have been throwing well.

“Bullpen has been great. So, I don’t think anybody is too put off about this except for me. And I’ll get over it. I think there’s things to fine tune, but  I’m happy with the life my stuff was showing.”