ST. PETERSBURG -- Reynaldo López has enjoyed the excitement of late-inning, high-leverage situations, serving as the primary closer for the 2023 White Sox in the absence of Liam Hendriks, who is now cancer-free and in remission after battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But with the excitement comes those occasional gut punches delivered from always pitching with the game hanging in the balance, as the right-hander found out during an 8-7 loss to the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field. López entered in the ninth to protect a two-run lead but left with his second loss of the season following a Brandon Lowe walk-off blast to right.

Lowe’s drive followed Christian Bethancourt’s opposite-field homer to open the ninth and Yandy Díaz’s single to right. López sat at his locker, with his head down, after the crushing setback, but received a pat on the back and some encouraging words from White Sox manager Pedro Grifol.

“Just keep going. That’s all,” said Grifol of his message to López. “He’s given us plenty of good innings in the eighth and ninth. Just keep going. Don’t get down on yourself. You have good stuff. You are good at what you do. Just keep going.”

“That’s the toughest part about being a reliever is putting a game like that behind you and getting ready for the next game,” White Sox starter Michael Kopech said. “Ultimately, he’s a professional, and I know he’ll be able to do that. But it will probably feel like a long night for him.”

López topped out at 99.1 mph on his four-seam fastball, according to Statcast, and his 99.1 mph average velocity was down 0.7 mph. Overall, López’s stuff felt good, but it was a case of bad location as he explained after the blown save.

“Yes, bad location,” López said. “I couldn’t hit the spot today.”

“He left two pitches up and they did what they are supposed to do with it,” Grifol said. “But give him the ball tomorrow again. He’s done it for us this year, and he’s gone multiple innings and plus-ones. So, I’m not losing confidence or any faith in López.”

Tampa Bay entered this series opener with a 10-0 record at home and after scoring four runs off Kopech in the opening frame, looked as if an 11th straight victory wasn’t far away. But Kopech and the White Sox quickly changed course, scoring three in the second and three in the third.

Those three runs in the third scored without the White Sox putting the ball in play, drawing five walks off Jalen Beeks and six in total, but also striking out three times. It was the first time in the divisional era (since 1969) that the White Sox drew six walks in a single inning.

Although Chicago left a few more insurance runs on the bases -- finishing 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position -- everything else was lining up perfectly. Kopech fought back to strike out nine over five innings, topping out at 99.9 mph, according to Statcast, and Jimmy Lambert, Kendall Graveman and Aaron Bummer each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

Their efforts gave way to López, who gave way to Lowe for his first career walkoff hit.

“Honestly, no. I didn't square it up perfectly, like I feel like I do when I hit home runs,” Lowe said. “It was one of those I was kind of willing to go out. I was praying that it was gonna go.”

“Our guys battled,” Grifol said. “We got down, 4-0, in the first, and that dugout never stopped. So, we battled back against a good team and we took a two-run lead into the ninth with one of our best guys on the mound. It just didn’t happen tonight.”

The brutal fashion of this loss didn’t sound any extra alarms for Grifol and his 7-13 squad. He wants the team to bounce back Saturday afternoon in the same fashion he wants for López.

“They are all difficult,” Grifol said. “A loss is a loss in the big leagues and we just have to keep going. We’ve played [20] games and we have to keep going. You gotta come back tomorrow, flush this one and you gotta come back and get after it.”

Even if it wasn't López protecting a lead in the ninth Friday, he thoroughly appreciated Grifol’s support.

“It means a lot,” López said. “What happened today is today. Tomorrow is another day. Just turn the page and try to be the best tomorrow.”