Six Pack of Stats: Tigers 11, White Sox 5

Much like yesterday’s game, a close contest ballooned into a big win, this time an 11-5 victory for the Tigers at home over the division rival White Sox. The Detroit win (37-46) snaps a five-game win streak for the White Sox (49-33).

There were plenty of exciting visuals in this game. One of the most notable sights and sounds from today was the first career MLB ejection for White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz.

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The Starters

After a five-inning, two-earned run outing in Chicago against the Mariners, Dallas Keuchel went for four innings in today’s game, giving up seven earned. Keuchel found himself with a little bad luck. His xFIP on the game is more than 10 runs lower than his actual ERA, illustrated most notably by a Billy Hamilton error that allowed Tigers left fielder Eric Haase an inside-the-park home run that plated three runs.

Keuchel relied on his three main pitches: his sinker, changeup, and cutter. Keuchel saw a very slight improvement in spin rate between his main trio of pitches, picking up 3 rpm thanks to his changeup and cutter.

The Tigers swung and missed on five of eight of Keuchel’s sinkers, but Keuchel couldn’t get Detroit to whiff much on the rest of his arsenal.

Baseball Savant

Tarik Skubal followed a seven-inning, one-earned run performance against Houston with five-inning, five-earned outing against Chicago. Skubal also had a large discrepancy between his actual game numbers and his peripheral game numbers, with his 2.78 xFIP suggesting he pitched much better than his 9.00 ERA would tell.

Skubal’s main pitch was his 4-seamer, which he used for 41 of his 94 total pitches. His next-most used pitches were his changeup and slider, using both 20 times during this start. The changeup was his most efficient pitch for getting swings and misses, but Skubal saw a noticeable 2.3 mph dip in velocity on it. Nonetheless, Skubal was able to complete five innings and was credited with the win.

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

With the Tigers trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Jonathan Schoop stepped up with the bases loaded and no outs, hitting a ground ball single to center field that tied the game. Detroit ended up plating two more runs that inning, with Keuchel unable to record an out before being pulled. The at-bat for Schoop had a 3.20 LI.

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Pressure Cooker

Batting fifth for Detroit, Eric Haase faced the most pressure among all players in the game (1.57 pLI), and he made the most of his opportunities. Haase went 3-for-4 from the plate, including an inside-the-park and an outside-the-park home run, along with six RBIs.

Dallas Keuchel faced the most pressure for the White Sox (1.44 pLI), with many Tigers baserunners in the fourth and fifth innings.

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Top Play

Haase’s inside-the-park home run came in the bottom of the fourth with two runners on base and the Tigers trailing, 2-0. His four-bagger gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead, and added .291 WPA for Detroit.

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Top Performer

Stop me if you’ve heard his name before. Eric Haase added a total of .341 WPA for the Tigers, nearly half of Detroit’s offensive total .691 WPA.

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Smackdown

Luckiest hit: Tim Anderson’s double in the fifth inning had just a .120 xBA, the lowest of any base hit on the game.

Toughest out: In the bottom of the fourth, Detroit’s Zack Short lined out. While the exit velo on that batted ball was just 75.8 mph, the line out had an xBA of .860.

Hardest hit: In the top of the eighth, newly-promoted Jake Burger walloped a ground ball 112.5 mph into a double play, giving him the top exit velo of the game.

Weakest contact: The other recent call-up for the White Sox, Gavin Sheets, had a second-inning ground out with an exit velo of 53.4 mph, the softest hit batted ball of the game.

Longest hit: Some White Sox fans have clamored for Jonathan Schoop as a possible trade target, and they got to see firsthand the power he provides. Schoop’s 440-foot, no-doubt homer in the bottom of the eighth was the furthest-hit batted ball.

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Magic Number: 3

One source of Dallas Keuchel’s struggles on the year is when he pitches the third time through the order. Keuchel has seen a dip in production in many areas from the first time through the order to the third time through. Opponents hit .328 off of Keuchel the third time through, compared to a .214 average the first time through. Keuchel also has an increased walk rate and a decreased strikeout rate from the first to third time through, with a 20.0 K% and a 5.2 BB% the first time through compared to a 13.3 K% and a 10.7 BB% the third time through.

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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

It was a lighter, 173-comment day, between a holiday weekend and a deflating loss. steely3000 saw it through and coasted to a commenting win.

GrinnellSteve had the only green today, with, of all things, a Ron Santo flashback (it was entertaining as hell, though):