Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 1, Cleveland 0

The American League Central Division Champions faced Cleveland in Game 3 of a five-game series. The pitching saved the night, spinning a shutout. The White Sox offense might have been a little low-energy, but that was to be expected after the cheap beer hangovers they likely had from celebrating the division title the prior evening.

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The Starters

Dylan Cease had a phenomenal night, until he took a hit to his lower tricep in the sixth inning, forcing him to hand the baseball over to Ryan Burr. Before he left (tests indicated a mere bruise, day-to-day), Cease recorded nine strikeouts, mostly from a nasty fastball.

Cease’s 82-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Shane Bieber returned to the mound after a shoulder strain that has kept him out since June 13. His pitch count was limited, and he made it through three scoreless innings before being pulled.

Bieber’s 34-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

Liam Hendriks came in to finish what Cease and the bullpen started. Hendriks might have felt the pressure against power hitter José Ramírez, but never showed any signs and struck him out swinging. The LI for the play was 3.54.

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Pressure Cooker

In a low-scoring/high-pressure game, there were plenty of high pLI numbers. Ryan Burr faced the most pressure, by just 0.07%, with a pLI of 2.79. Liam Hendriks was a close second, at 2.72.

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Top Play

Luis Robert had the only run of the evening, and gave the White Sox the chance to win with his solo, fifth-inning home run. His WPA was .135.

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Top Performer

Dylan Cease reminded everyone that he’s silently one of the best pitchers on the team right now. His 5 ¹⁄₃ shutout innings allowed the White Sox offense to nurse their hangovers, as his WPA was 0.29.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Bradley Zimmer’s sixth-inning single (that hit Dylan Cease) left the bat at 110.4 mph. That will certainly leave a mark on Cease.

Weakest contact: José Ramírez singled in the sixth inning despite only hitting the ball at 52.8 mph.

Luckiest hit: José Ramírez’s single in the sixth inning was also lucky, after the low-impact hit as mentioned above. His xBA was only .160.

Toughest out: Eloy Jiménez line out to left field stranded José Abreu and ended the fourth inning. The xBA for Jiménez was .660. Roberto Pérez, aka the foot that was in the way of Carlos Rodón’s perfect game earlier this season, also had a line out in the fifth inning with an xBA of .660.

Longest hit: Luis Robert’s solo home run traveled 414 feet.

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Magic Number: 9

Dylan Cease has knocked Javier Vasquez off the White Sox Single-Season Strikeout Top 10 list and surpassed Gary Peters, as he recorded strikeout No. 216 this evening (and finishing with 221). The next hurdle is 226, held by Chris Sale.

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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

In spite of a game that began with an “is this the gamethread” gaffe, it was a solid, 162-comment ballgame. Trooper Galactus crushed it tonight, with 45 comments, nearly doubling up on second place.

Trooper swept the ballgame, and didn’t even have to write anyone a ticket: His seven recs represented the only green in the thread: