Six Pack of Stats: Brewers 6, White Sox 1

The Brewers clinched a home series against the White Sox with a 6-1 victory on Saturday. Milwaukee (58-41) and the South Siders (58-40) finish the American Family Field series tomorrow at 6:08 p.m.

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The Starters

Carlos Rodón took the loss. Rodón pitched four innings, giving up two earned runs off of four hits and two walks. He struck out five Brewers batters. His xFIP for the game (4.69) was almost identical to his game ERA (4.50).

Rodón threw 79 pitches in his start against the Brewers. He relied on his 4-seam fastball and his slider the most, with those two pitches making up 74 of his 79 total pitches thrown. Rodón was able to generate 22 called strikes and whiffs between his main two pitches. He gained an inch of vertical spin on both his 4-seamer and slider, but lost velocity on both pitches.

Baseball Savant

Corbin Burnes threw a quality start against the White Sox, going for six innings and surrendering one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out six Chicago hitters. Burnes was credited with his sixth win, putting him at 6-4 for the 2021 season. His xFIP for the game was 3.65, more than two runs higher than his game ERA of 1.50.

Burnes relied heavily on his cutter, using it for 58 of his 98 total pitches on the night, and 21 of Burnes’ 27 called strikes and whiffs were generated by his cutter. Burnes had four called strikes and whiffs on his curveball, with one called strike on his sinker and slider putting his CSW total at 27 and his CSW% at 28 for the night.

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

Brewers starter Corbin Burnes faced some high-leverage situations in the top of the fifth, after the White Sox put the first three batters of the inning on base. With the White Sox trailing 4-1 with the bases loaded and one out, Burnes got Jake Burger to strike out swinging for the second out of the inning. The plate appearance had an LI of 3.20, the highest of the game.

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Pressure Cooker

Burger’s strikeout was his only plate appearance in the game, putting his total pLI at 3.20. The next highest was 1.58 pLI from Leury García.

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Top Play

It only took one Carlos Rodón pitch for the Brewers offense to make an impact. Leadoff hitter Kolten Wong sent the first pitch of the game 401 feet to right field, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead. The solo shot had a .099 WPA, the highest of the entire game.

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Top Performer

Corbin Burnes led the way for the Brewers on the mound. His six innings of work added .244 WPA for Milwaukee.

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Smackdown

Luckiest hit: In the bottom of the second, Brewers first basemen Rowdy Tellez hit a single with an xBA of .150, the lowest of any base hit during the game.

Toughest out: In the bottom of the first, Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich lined out. The batted ball had a .960 xBA, the highest of any out.

Hardest hit: Former White Sox outfielder Avisaíl García grounded out in his third inning plate appearance. The ground out had an exit velocity of 112.2 mph, the fastest of all batted balls in a game that saw three home runs.

Weakest contact: In the top of the fifth inning, Leury García hit a 16.1 mph roller down the third-base line on a now-controversial play that saw a Yoán Moncada run overturned after a replay review. The ground ball was the softest-hit batted ball of the game.

Longest hit: Traded to the Brewers on July 6, Rowdy Tellez hit his first and second home runs as a member of the Brewers in tonight’s game. His first home run in the sixth inning traveled 413 feet, the furthest hit ball of the night.

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Magic Number: 3

Despite going 0-for-4 from the plate, White Sox rookie Gavin Sheets had three hard-hit balls in his four plate appearances. Sheets’ three hard-hit balls were the most by any player during the game, and he was one of four White Sox batters with multiple hard-hit balls.

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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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South Side Sox Roll Call

A 177-comment night fomented a ferocious battle between AnoHito and Nello Rubio, with Ano prevailing by one.

This was the stingiest gamethread of the year, with just three recs all game.