DETROIT -- Reynaldo López pitched well enough to win during the White Sox 4-3 loss to the Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park, with Detroit securing a rain-abbreviated series victory. The right-hander gave Chicago a chance to put together a three-run eighth inning rally after the offense had been dormant since the second.

That rally came up a little short, with Detroit closer Shane Greene cruising through the ninth. But after a rough start to the season, Lopez is showing signs of bouncing back.

“You feel bad when you can’t do your job. During those first three outings, I felt bad,” Lopez said through interpreter Billy Russo. “I was a little frustrated because I wasn’t able to help the team. At the same time, when you are passing through those moments, you have to keep your head up because you are working and doing your best. That’s your only comfort in the moment.

“If you keep your confidence and you keep working hard, you know that sooner or later you are going to get the results that you are working for. And for me, that was the key through those moments. I kept working hard. I kept believing in me. Hopefully now we are starting to see better results and I hope to keep improving.”

Lopez allowed three runs (two earned) over six innings, striking out a season-high eight and not issuing a walk. He recorded 14 swinging strikes among his 105 pitches, per Statcast, with eight coming off a fastball topping out at 97.6 mph.

Sunday’s outing marked Lopez’s second straight quality start after struggling mightily during his first three as he mentioned. Lopez allowed 18 earned runs over 13 1/3 innings to start the season, but he has yielded three runs in his last 12.

“He has to keep pitching, keep throwing strikes, command his fastball and continue to miss strong with the secondary pitches when he’s trying to put guys away,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Some of them are staying in the heart of the plate and they’re getting to it.

“In spite of that he’s minimizing things all across the board. He just has to refine his pitching game, get more experience.”

Tigers starter Daniel Norris yielded just two hits over five scoreless innings, with Jose Abreu doubling in the first and Yoan Moncada singling in the second. The White Sox then went hitless until Ryan Cordell’s two-out infield hit in the eighth.

Cordell’s single started a stretch of four straight hits for Chicago, with Leury Garcia and Tim Anderson picking up run-scoring singles, and a third run scoring on a passed ball. The inning ended on an Abreu groundout with Anderson on the move in search of his third stolen base of the game.

This rally was possible because Lopez minimized the damage earlier in the game. Lopez studied video of when things went well last year to make subtle changes with not lowering his glove mechanics-wise, and he also has credited veteran hurlers Ivan Nova and Ervin Santana for helping him through these tough times. He mentioned their help again following Sunday’s effort.

“Their advice is very important,” Lopez said. “When I was passing through those rough outings, they were passing through bad moments, too, and I saw them bounce back the next day with the same work ethic, the same energy, the same personality. I learned from that and said you know what, if they're passing through similar moments like me and they're keeping their heads up, keeping the same demeanor, then why can't I do it?

“I learned from that and that has been one of the keys for me, too. You learn from their experience and you learn from your own experience, too. It's just about moving forward. You have a bad outing today, just think about tomorrow.”