Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 3, Athletics 2

The White Sox evened the series against the Athletics, in the wildest walk-off win. Johnny Cueto dazzled through seven innings and Gavin Sheets bought himself more time in the lineup. In an otherwise frustrating game, the White Sox eked out a win thanks to a little wild pitch offense.

Let’s break it down.

The Starters

Johnny Cueto had a brilliant start against the A’s. They might have started off hot, but Cueto didn’t allow them to score deeper into the game, as he completed seven innings. Cueto allowed six hits and two runs, but provided the consistency the White Sox desperately needed to stay in the game. He continued with his arsenal of pitches, favoring the sinker, but not by much.

Cueto’s 97-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Paul Blackburn lasted through five innings and allowed five hits. He would get two players on frequently, only to serve up double plays or watch batters go down swinging. Despite not lasting long on the mound, Blackburn still kept the White Sox off the board for his entire outing. Blackburn, like Cueto, favored the sinker.

Blackburn’s 67-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Pressure Play

Zach Jackson’s wild pitch allowed Adam Engel to cross home plate for a Sox walk-off win. The LI for the play was 4.81.

Pressure Cooker

Adam Engel faced the most pressure, as he took off to score before the ball could get back to home plate. His pLI was a chart-topping 4.81.

Top Play

Gavin Sheets’ two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh put the Sox on the board and back in the game at 2-2. His home run had a WPA of .314.

Top Performer

Gavin Sheets was the hero of the game. Not only did he have the two-run home run, but his ninth-inning hit was the winning run. Sheets’ WPA was 0.38.

Smackdown

Hardest hit: Eloy Jiménez knocked a single off the bat at 113.4 mph off Paul Blackburn.

Weakest contact: Chad Pinder’s fourth-inning single was lobbed at just 63.8 mph.

Luckiest hit: The above single by Pinder was also the luckiest hit, with an xBA of just .160.

Toughest out: Vimael Machin hit the ball at 100 mph in the first inning, with an xBA of .670 — but grounded out instead.

Longest hit: Seth Brown’s third-inning home run traveled 452 feet.

Magic Number: .500

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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