Six Pack of Stats: Tigers 5, White Sox 2

After nights like this, it is important to remember how long the season is. The White Sox (12-10) squandered many opportunities during the 5-2 loss to the Tigers (8-16). As a result, the White Sox saw their four-game winning streak come to a close.

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The Starters

Lucas Giolito got off to a rough start, surrendering Miguel Cabrera’s 489th career home run in the first inning. It was smooth sailing for Giolito most of the way after that mistake, but the Tigers got to him in the seventh. As usual, Giolito did very well with his changeup, and he used it on three consecutive pitches to escape a sixth-inning jam. However, it was not enough, as the Tigers were not fooled in the seventh inning. During the seventh, the Tigers ripped three hard-hit balls against him (10 against Giolito total) and scored three runs to take a lead they did not relinquish.

Here is a look at Giolito’s 114-pitch performance:

4-seam fastball: 51% | 7 called strikes + 6 whiffs (19%) | 93.8 mph avg.
Changeup: 36% | 5 called strikes + 8 whiffs (32%) | 81.7 mph avg.
Slider: 13% | 0 called strikes + 2 whiffs (22%) | 85.9 mph avg.

Detroit starter José Ureña was the victim of some horrible defense behind him. In addition, Ureña walked three, struck out only two, and the White Sox hit 12 hard-hit balls against him. However, many of these hard-hit balls were hit on the ground at infielders, so Ureña managed to wiggle out of trouble many times.

Ureña gave up two runs (one earned run) on seven hits in seven innings. This was more than enough for Ureña to get credit for a quality start.

Here is a breakdown of Ureña’s 98-pitch start:

Sinker: 44% | 6 called strikes + 2 whiffs (9%) | 92.4 mph avg.
Slider: 24% | 2 called strikes + 2 whiffs (18%) | 83.5 mph avg.
4-seam fastball: 17% | 3 called strikes + 2 whiffs (33%) | 93.2 mph avg.
Changeup: 14% | 1 called strike + 0 whiffs | 84.9 mph avg.

Fastest pitch: Detroit’s José Cisnero had the fastest pitch of the night, topping out at 98.7 mph, which Billy Hamilton fouled off. Hamilton eventually struck out swinging in that at-bat.

Most swing-and-misses: Giolito finished with 16 swing-and-misses, more than double Ureña’s total (six).

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Pressure Play

In the top of the sixth, with the White Sox leading by a score of 2-1, Jonathan Schoop had the highest-pressure at-bat of the game. With runners at the corners and two outs, the Tigers had a chance to tie or even take the lead, but Giolito got a big strikeout with a well-located changeup. The play recorded a 2.95 LI.

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Pressure Cooker

By pLI, Billy Hamilton (2.71 pLI) faced the most individual pressure, by a wide margin. In his only plate appearance, Hamilton represented the tying run in the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately, he could not build on the White Sox’s scoring threat, as he struck out.

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Top Play

Niko Goodrum’s go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh had a .273 WPA for the Tigers. That gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead, and they never looked back.

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Top Performer

Niko Goodrum finished with .228 WPA to earn top performer honors for either team. This was largely thanks to his two-run homer that gave the Tigers the lead.

However, Yermín Mercedes was the White Sox’s top performer, with .163 WPA. He went 2-for-4 to raise his batting average to .432.

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Smackdown

Luckiest hit: Yoán Moncada’s third inning single had a .310 xBA, and surprisingly, that was the luckiest hit of this game. There was not a lot of competition tonight for this award.

Toughest out: Willi Castro’s second-inning line out had a .750 xBA. This only came off the bat at 78.6 mph, but it was hit in a spot that is usually between fielders.

Hardest hit: Miguel Cabrera’s home run left the bat at 110.2 mph, and that takes the crown for this category. However, Jake Lamb’s single had a 109.7 mph exit velocity, nearly enough to win the award.

Weakest contact: Jonathan Schoop’s first inning ground out left the bat at 47.5 mph, easily the softest contact from this game.

Longest hit: Miguel Cabrera’s first inning home run wins this award by a wide margin, as he sent a Lucas Giolito fastball 445 feet.

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Magic Number: 13

The White Sox had 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position, but finished with zero hits in those situations. No matter how bad an opposing team’s defense is, it is nearly impossible to win when that happens.

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Glossary

LI measures pressure per play
pLI measures total pressure faced in game
Whiff a swing-and-miss
WPA win probability added measures contributions to the win
xBA expected batting average

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South Side Sox Gamethread Stats

AnoHito returns atop the leaderboard with a strong performance in a massive, 318-comment thread for this horror show ballgame:

Top rec was a killer from obnoxious american, clocking in with seven clicks to get it green, and then some: