In what was perhaps the worst game of the season for the White Sox, or at least dating back to the Minnesota series to open the season, the White Sox got clubbed, 8-3.
Eight unanswered runs by the Brewers, keyed by an insane inside-the-park home run from Christian Yelich in the fifth to tie things, 2-2, were the difference. The White Sox actually led this game early, 2-0, on a Leury García two-run shot.
Postgame, Yelich called his “clout” (actually, a dying flare down the left-field line that Eloy Jiménez misplayed badly) “probably the luckiest home run in baseball history.”
The Starts
Gio González had hopes of a solid start through four innings, but boy howdy, things went south in the fifth. González fell to the worst WPA of the game (-.227) after giving up a total of eight hits and four runs, three Ks and three walks, in 4 ⅓ innings, for a 20 game score, third-worst on the Sox this season. But before you get too agitated, Gio’s season game score through two starts is equal to Dylan Cease’s through two (36).
Josh Lindbloom fared better for Milwaukee, going five innings and striking out seven to arrive at a game score of 55, which is better than the average game score White Sox hitters have faced this season (51.2).
Pressure Play
Leury García found himself facing the highest pressure of the game (2.71 LI), with runners on first and second, one out, White Sox down, 5-2. García, though having a strong offensive game overall, lined out to center against Freddy Peralta, with Grandal misreading the play and nearly getting picked off of second base after the catch.
Pressure Cooker
Jedd Gyorko, I’m guessing by virtue of that at-bat he worked for a homer in the fifth, faced the highest pressure in the game, at 1.79 pLI
Top Play
Gyorko clubbed the deciding homer of the game in the fifth, turning a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 Milwaukee lead, a .227 WPA hit. Worse, Gio González was ahead of Gyorko 0-2 in the at-bat, with the homer later coming on a 3-2 pitch.
Game MVP
Going 2-for-3 with the deciding homer and three total RBIs, Gyorko took the honors with a .339 WPA. Yelich, with that inside-the-park homer and four walks, was second with a .220 WPA.
Magic Number: 4
Both leadoff hitters, Ben Gamel of the Brewers and Luis Robert of the White Sox, had four strikeouts. Per Chris Kamka and the White Sox broadcast, has never happened in a nine-inning game in baseball history. Gamel went 0-for-6 on the game, Robert with the classic golden sombrero at 0-for-4 with his four Ks.