The Out of the Park sim we started at South Side Sox is running over with Brett and his team at South Side Hit Pen — Sports Illustrated.
Overall, it was a pretty good night for the simSOX, with two wins behind solid Gio González starts. Even the one loss was a very close, well-pitched game.
Baseball-Reference OOTP sim
Final White Sox 7, Rangers 2
Winning Pitcher Gio González (2-0)
Losing Pitcher Jordan Lyles (1-1)
HRs Yoán Moncada (5), Eloy Jiménez (2)
Standings 15-5, 2 ½ games ahead of Cleveland, second-best record in baseball
It took Jiménez three weeks to get his first home run (last night) and one day to get his second. The Rangers fell to 6-14, which is pretty amazing given in the SSHP sim, using the same software, Texas is the best team in the American League, with almost a reversed record. José Abreu went 3-for-4 in this one, with three runs scored. It’s extraordinary that the White Sox have won their first 15 of 20, as they are with neither Luis Robert nor Nick Madrigal. Huh?
South Side Hit Pen OOTP sim
Final Rangers 2, White Sox 1
Winning Pitcher Jordan Lyles (1-1, 66 GS)
Losing Pitcher Matt Tomshaw (0-2, 61 GS)
HRs Nick Solak (2)
Standings 11-9, tied for second place with the Twins, ½ game behind Cleveland, tied for 11th-best record in baseball
Tomshaw pitched very well in his third start with the big club, subbing in for the injured Lucas Giolito; despite the 0-2 record, he holds a 3.50 ERA. The White Sox were shut down by mediocre starter Lyles, extinguishing rallies in the first inning (Yoán Moncada thrown out at home on a Nick Madrigal single) and second (Yermín Mercedes thrown out at home on a deep fly from José Abreu) with bad-luck baserunning.
Strat-o-Matic sim
Final White Sox 8, Rangers 3
Winning Pitcher Gio González (2-1)
Losing Pitcher Corey Kluber (2-3)
HRs Eloy Jiménez (9)
Standings 6-14, last place, 8 ½ games behind Kansas City, second-worst record in baseball
Another nice game at the plate for the White Sox, this time resulting in more key hits and fewer left on base. González moves to 2-1 despite a 6.75 season ERA, and some somewhat surprising names are in the pen, namely Ian Hamilton and José Ruiz (both supplying scoreless efforts on Friday night). Madrigal, it should be noted, did not break camp with the White Sox as Brett had advised the Strat-o-Matic guys when they asked, but is hitting .462 in his first six games. Madrigal and Luis Robert both got their first career stolen bases in this one.