ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Lucas Giolito had a hug waiting for Reynaldo Lopez after the seventh inning. One White Sox starting pitcher who struggled mightily in 2018 was eager to give some props to another who had been sorely in need of a night like this.

Lopez was outstanding in the White Sox’ 9-2 victory Friday against the Rays in the opener of a series at Tropicana Field. The right-hander pitched seven innings for only the second time in 20 starts this season, and he dialed things up big-time after allowing single runs in the first and second innings. It was the first win for Lopez (5-8) since June 9.

Coming off a six-inning outing in Oakland in which he allowed only an unearned run, Lopez is beginning to present a different picture of himself. He entered with the second-highest ERA (5.97) among all qualifying pitchers in the majors.

“My mindset [is] I’m completely different in the second half compared to the first half,” Lopez said. “This half, I’ve tried to keep things simple, focus on my pitches, execute my pitches and handle my job.”

Giolito has been telling Lopez that a turnaround would happen.

“I’ve told him, ‘Dude, I know this sucks, but it’s going to make you a better pitcher for it, and you’re going to come out stronger,’ ” Giolito said. “I think he’s basically saying to himself, ‘Enough’s enough. I know I’m better than I’m showing.’ ”

Eloy sighting

Back in the Sox’ clubhouse before the game and on the field during batting practice — though certainly not hitting — was rookie Eloy Jimenez, on the 10-day injured list with a bruised right ulnar nerve.

Jimenez was injured when he collided in the outfield with Charlie Tilson on Tuesday. He’ll receive treatment until arriving back in Chicago, where the plan remains for his condition to be reassessed Monday.

Right, Engel

The man has a plan: to take balls and swing at strikes. For Adam Engel, it could be just crazy enough to work.

Engel was recalled Friday from Class AAA Charlotte, taking the roster spot of Tilson, who was optioned to Charlotte a day earlier. The center fielder batted ninth in his first big-league game since May 4.

“You never want to go backward no matter what career you’re in, but I don’t think it was all bad,” he said. “I definitely could’ve gone down there with a bad attitude and packed it in, but the White Sox have a lot of good people in the organization to kind of get you back on your feet. So I looked at it as an opportunity to get at-bats every night and just continue to work on things that I knew I needed to work on in order to have success at the major-league level.”

Engel, who was batting .212 when he was sent down, hit .270 with 13 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 29 RBI in 64 games with the Knights. He had two hits, including a ringing triple to right, in his return to the Sox.

“I think when you swing at strikes and take balls, you have a chance to get on base at a higher clip, which is, for me, huge,” he said.