Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 3, Twins 1

This game surely did not disappoint in terms of a playoff-like atmosphere. The Chicago White Sox edged the Minnesota Twins late to secure the first win of this four-game set!

FanGraphs

The Starts

Dylan Cease bounced back from his rough 2019 against the Twins! In 4 ²⁄₃ innings, he only gave up one run off of five hits, but he did strike out four. However, his outing was cut short by five walks. Luckily for Dylan, only one of those walks scored and cost him, but that’s a number he will definitely look to reduce going into the playoffs.

José Berríos mirrored Cease pretty well, except with four fewer walks. In five innings, Berríos gave up one run off of six hits, while only striking out two. The Sox had a few opportunities to score runs and extend their lead with José still in the game, but fell short.

Pressure Play

The White Sox humbled Nelson Cruz, who saw the most at-bats with the most pressure. His last AB was the ultimate opportunity, with bases loaded with two outs in the eighth. Cruz — who was 0-for-3 — produced a 5.60 LI groundout to end the inning. Cruz ended the night 0-for-4 and missed several chances to break open the game for the Twinkies. Usually, that leads to good things for the opposing team, and it most certainly did tonight!

Pressure Cooker

Cruz had an off-night, accumulating a 2.96 pLI and wilting under the weight. In addition to his oh-fer night, he left nine runners on base and struck out twice. That simply does not happen often with Cruz this season, but I will be glad to see that happen even more this series.

Top Play

Adam Engel pinch-hit for Nomar Mazara in the eighth inning with runners on first and second with nobody out. He proceeded to bunt the first pitch foul, and as Taylor Rogers delivered the second pitch of Engel’s at-bat, Adam showed bunt, but he quickly pulled his bat back and slapped a single through the drawn-in infield. Yoán Moncada scored his second run of the ballgame, and the White Sox took the lead on this clutch .150 WPA RBI single!

Game MVP

Evan Marshall has turned into a brilliant and reliable pitcher deep in a ballgame, and tonight was no exception. In 1 ¹⁄₃ innings of work, Marshall struck out two and gave up zero runs off of zero hits. He kept the team in the game against a tough lineup, so he takes home tonight’s MVP honors!

Magic Number: 4

The White Sox are four wins away from clinching a spot in the playoffs; they can accomplish this feat as soon as the end of the night on Friday, with a little more than two weeks to go in the regular season.