Six Pack of Stats: Dodgers 11, White Sox 9

I used to really like rollercoasters. The thrill of the ups and downs, wind in my face, and hands in the air. I’d immediately get back in line after riding a good one. You could say I really enjoyed the ride.

This ride the White Sox have strapped us into is not fun. It’s the kind of ride that which the person next to you vomits in your lap, screams in your ear — or maybe the ride breaks down and you’re stuck for 30 minutes.

The truth is, this ride is being run by someone who has lost control. He still somehow has a job, but he hasn’t been good at his job for many, many years and needs to go.

Anyway, let’s get into these stats.

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The Starters

Dylan Cease was dealing early on, recording eight strikeouts with ease. His walk rate was a little high (three), and after two errors at third base, Cease imploded in the fifth inning. It was not entirely his fault, as he faced one too many batters on an empty tank and ran it up to 110 pitches. He was not charged with any of the runs from the fifth inning due to Burger’s error.

Cease’s outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Tyler Anderson wasn’t necessarily bad today for the Dodgers, but the White Sox capitalized on his weaknesses. Anderson walked three and was charged with four runs during an explosive fourth inning. He was pulled soon after, because the Dodgers have a decent manager.

Anderson’s 81-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

Yasmani Grandal had the chance to make a good impact on the game, with two on and only one out in the ninth inning. After running into a favorable count and taking a couple of good strikes he ... wait for it ... fouled out. His LI was 4.57.

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Pressure Cooker

Gavin Sheets came in to pinch-hit with the game on the line and the White Sox only trailing by two. But instead of being the hero of the game, after working the count full and setting the runners in motion, he struck out on a slider biting the ground. Sheets’ pLI was 3.40.

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Top Play

It always comes back to Max Muncy, doesn’t it? Muncy doubled in the fifth inning to bring Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner home, almost securing the Dodgers the win. Muncy’s WPA was 2.98.

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Top Performer

It pains me to say this, but we all know the truth. Max Muncy had top marks and now officially owns the White Sox. His WPA was .480.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Jake Burger’s fifth-inning home run was obliterated off of the bat at 109.2 mph.

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Weakest contact: Yasmani Grandal’s unlikely eighth-inning RBI single was lightly tapped at 65.6 mph.

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Luckiest hit: Gavin Lux broke through with a single that had an xBA of just .070.

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Toughest out: Mookie Betts ended the ninth inning with a line out that looked like it would at least be a base hit. His xBA was .770.

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Longest hit: Burger’s home run off of Phil Bickford traveled 432 feet before landing.

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Magic Number: 2

The White Sox have two triples this season, both belonging to Josh Harrison. So, there's that.

Also, master strategist Tony La Russa had a batter down two strikes (a 1-2 count) before choosing to intentionally walk him. Not like that led to a three-run homer or anything.

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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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Sorry folks, I can’t really justify putting Cease here and the players weren’t especially bad.