Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 5, Cardinals 1

The White Sox (27-19) were seeking to end their first three-game losing streak of the season after a rough series against the Yankees. Though the offense got off to a slow start, the White Sox broke through with a four-run sixth inning. That was more than enough offense for Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech, who the Cardinals (26-21) could not solve. Let’s observe the details behind a successful start to the home stand.

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The Starters

White Sox starter Lance Lynn allowed zero hits in his first five innings of work. The sixth inning was a struggle, as the Cardinals took advantage of a leadoff walk to score the first run of the game. However, the South Siders’ bats woke up in time for Lynn to be credited with the well-deserved win.

Lynn was removed after seven innings. During his outing, he allowed one run on three hits, he walked three, and he struck out four. Here is a closer look at Lynn’s 104-pitch performance:

Baseball Savant

While Cardinals starter Kwang Hyun Kim also shut his opposition down with ease at the beginning, things did not end as well for him. Kim managed to keep the White Sox off-balance, as his slider and curveball resulted in a lot of whiffs and weak contact. Kim was cruising through five and two-thirds innings, but manager Mike Shildt may have left him in a batter or two too long. Shortly after a mound visit with two outs in the sixth, Andrew Vaughn hit the decisive two-run homer to put the White Sox ahead for good.

Kim’s final line was as follows: five and two-thirds innings, three runs (all earned), five hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. Here are some key numbers from Kim’s 104-pitch performance:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

The highest leverage index from any play in this game surprisingly occurred in the bottom of the fourth. When Andrew Vaughn batted that inning, the White Sox had runners on first and second with one out, and Vaughn flew out to right. That play had a LI of 2.32, and while this one did not go Vaughn’s way, he got another opportunity later that did go his way.

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Pressure Cooker

On average, Kim faced the most high-pressure situations out of any player in this game, with a pLI of 1.26. This is not a big surprise, as the game was tied during most of Kim’s time in the game. While the high-leverage moments went Kim’s way in the early going, that changed in the sixth.

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Top Play

The go-ahead two-run homer by Vaughn takes the cake, as it increased the White Sox’s odds of winning the game by 36.4% (.364 WPA). Tim Anderson’s two-run double came in second place (.161 WPA), as it gave the White Sox a pair of insurance runs.

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Top Performer

In terms of WPA, Vaughn takes this award, contributing .347 WPA for the White Sox. Vaughn finished 2-for-4 with a crucial home run, a double, and two runs batted in. Lance Lynn takes the silver medal, as his quality start resulted in a WPA of .214.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: In the fifth inning, Edmundo Sosa, who has been swinging quite the hot bat, hit a ball with 114.6 mph exit velocity. Fortunately, he hit that into the ground, and it resulted in a groundout. Sosa also claims the silver medal, as his seventh inning single left the bat at 105.4 mph. Yoán Moncada (104.8 mph) and Tim Anderson (104.6 mph) led the White Sox in exit velocity, but both of those were groundouts.

Weakest contact: Though Moncada had one of the hardest hit balls of the game, he also had the weakest contact. His fifth inning groundout left the bat at 45.5 mph.

Luckiest hit: Paul Goldschmidt’s sixth inning single broke up Lynn’s no-hitter and drove in the first run of the game for either team. Many thought it should have been an error, and unsurprisingly, it only had a .320 xBA.

Toughest out: The line out by Yadier Molina in the second had only a decent exit velocity (92.0 mph), but the launch angle was promising (10 degrees). Balls with that combination fall in for a hit 71% of the time, but Tim Anderson made a nice play at shortstop to take a hit away.

Longest hit: The fly ball that Dylan Carlson hit in the eighth inning traveled 375 feet. Carlson had another long hit that resulted in another deep flyout. That one happened in the sixth, and Andrew Vaughn made a catch on a 369-foot fly ball. Vaughn’s home run, which turned out to be the only homer of the game, went 355 feet.

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Magic Number: 110

It is tough to be a rookie in Major League Baseball, and Vaughn got off to a slow start at the plate. Despite that, his wRC+ now stands at 110, which is 10% better than league average. Vaughn has had an excellent couple of days between his performance tonight and his pinch-hit home run against Aroldis Chapman on Sunday. Things are looking up for the third overall pick of 2019.

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Glossary

Hard-hit is any ball off the bat at 95 mph or more
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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Polls

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South Side Sox Roll Call

In what might be a first this season, Schoolly_D takes the win in tonight’s 280-comment gamethread, and by a comfortable margin.

Meanwhile, we saw more green for tonight’s win, but Trooper Galactus took home the prize, with four recs — for the first comment of the night! Can’t go wrong with some whoop-ass.