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It’s a good thing the Chicago White Sox won the Field of Dreams game. The New York Yankees came into Chicago for revenge, and that they had. They set the tone early in today’s game and never faltered. Hopefully, a potential postseason matchup between these two teams have a slightly different outcome.
The Starters
Lucas Giolito had a rocky start to begin this game. A 10+ pitch at-bat to Brett Gardner in the first trickled into a second inning, where Lucas was still trying to find his rhythm. He ultimately gave up all three runs in the second inning and only pitched four total. He gave up six hits, three walks, but struck out eight.
Coming in, he had given up one earned run in four of his last five starts. Today’s start is not to concern anyone. The only concern is that he threw 101 pitches in four innings.
Those 101 pitches break down below:
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Nestor Cortes, on the other hand, was straight dealing. In his quality start, he pitched seven innings of one-run baseball, only a solo shot was given up to Andrew Vaughn in the sixth. Additionally, he only walked one while striking out seven.
His very efficient 98-pitch afternoon can be summarized below:
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Pressure Play
Trailing 5-2 with one out and the bases loaded during the bottom of the ninth, César Hernández went first-pitch hunting and grounded into a 4.78 LI game-ending double play.
Pressure Cooker
Wandy Peralta was responsible for inducing that concluding double play. He faced a 3.76 pLI, but he got the job done for his team, as he recorded the two-out save.
Top Play
To open today’s scoring, Rougned Odor recorded a two-run home run in the fatal second inning for Lucas Giolito. This became a .162 WPA play and would stay as the winning run.
Top Performer
Nestor Cortes, with an incredible start, gave his team a .228 WPA, and the Yankees took that and ran with it for today’s victory.
Smackdown
Hardest hit: Andrew Vaughn’s sixth inning blast to bring the score within two, at 3-1, rocketed the baseball 107.6 mph to the left field bleachers.
Weakest contact: On a bunt ground out in the first, César Hernández saw the baseball leave his bat at 30.1 mph.
Luckiest hit: Tim Anderson’s single against Cortes in the fifth only had a 14% chance to be a base hit.
Toughest out: The first contact made in today’s game was courtesy of D.J. LeMahieu, and luckily for the Sox, this 100.7 mph, .780 xBA batted baseball went for a line out to open the game.
Longest hit: Vaughn’s home run traveled 409 feet.
Magic Number: 33 to 19
Lucas Giolito, in a rare occasion, threw his slider 33 times to only throwing his change up 19 times. Whether it was for gameplan or a lack of feel, his work-in-progress slider is still just that. The goal is for a much more lethal one in one-and-a-half month’s time.
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
Poll
Who was this afternoon’s White Sox MVP?
This poll is closed
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14%
Andrew Vaughn: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 5 LOB
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33%
Tim Anderson: 2-for-5, 1 RBI
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41%
Aaron Bummer: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO
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10%
Zack Collins: 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 LOB
Poll
Who was the Cool Cat for the White Sox during this weekend’s conclusion?
This poll is closed
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9%
Lucas Giolito: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R / 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR
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83%
César Hernández: 0-for-4, 1 BB, 3 LOB, 3 errors
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0%
Seby Zavala: 0-for-2, 2 SO, 2 LOB
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7%
Matt Foster: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 SO, 1 HR
South Side Sox Roll Call
The gamethread was a little flat, perhaps anticipating the series loss. In a 263-comment thread, the battle came down to Nello Rubio and AnoHito, with Nello prevailing.
# | Commenter | # Comments |
---|---|---|
1 | Nello Rubio | 39 |
2 | AnoHito | 35 |
3 | baines03 | 29 |
4 | steely3000 | 25 |
5 | DuhSox | 13 |
6 | mattcoz | 13 |
7 | ruffster | 11 |
8 | Right Size Wrong Shape | 11 |
9 | Schoolly_D | 10 |
10 | wissoxfan83 | 10 |
11 | Gutteridge70 | 10 |
12 | obnoxious american | 9 |
13 | WIN05 | 9 |
14 | Trooper Galactus | 9 |
15 | goombafrank | 5 |
16 | SuperMetroid | 5 |
17 | Ozziesox | 4 |
18 | GrinnellSteve | 3 |
19 | Embearassing | 3 |
20 | Mark P. Liptak | 2 |
21 | venom truth | 2 |
22 | mrridgman | 2 |
23 | BillyK0chFanClub | 1 |
24 | NothinbutNets7 | 1 |
25 | billyok | 1 |
26 | 1969Vikings | 1 |
Just two comments went green today, so it’s a shared title for Billy K0ch and RSWS:
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