Six Pack of Stats: Tigers 7, White Sox 5

Well, the White Sox did it again. They played poorly, tried to rally, and in the end, lost to the Tigers. I don’t have anything new or witty to say, so let’s break down the numbers behind this game.

The Starters

Lucas Giolito had a phenomenal night on the mound, keeping his pitch count low as he blazed through six innings, only walking one and allowing three hits. Of course, there were two earned runs, but he looked good. By the seventh inning, he was showing signs of wear and tear, but was pulled about 15 pitches too late. Joe Kelly added three runs to Giolito’s tab in what was otherwise a great game for him.

Giolito’s 94-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Tarik Skubal also had a quality start and shut the White Sox down after Luis Robert’s colossal home run. Skubal collected seven strikeouts against just two earned runs, only one walk, and six hits in six innings. He entered the game with swelled ERA and nearly shut out a team that is supposed to feast on left-handed pitchers.

Skubal’s 91-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Pressure Play

With Tim Anderson and AJ Pollock on and only one out, Luis Robert had a chance to walk it off in the ninth inning but struck out swinging instead. The play reached an LI of 4.70.

Pressure Cooker

Andrew Vaughn came in just to pinch-hit in a situation that could put the White Sox in the lead. Instead, he struck out. His pLI was 3.23.

Top Play

Jeimer Candelario’s two-run home run that tied the game in the sixth inning ultimately put the White Sox in a downward spiral. Candelario’s WPA for his home run was .241.

Top Performer

Jeimer Candelario secured the Tigers victory with one home run and three RBIs. His WPA was 0.43.

Smackdown

Hardest hit: Luis Robert’s two-run home run in the first inning was demolished, coming off the bat at 111.4 mph.

Weakest contact: Tim Anderson’s fifth-inning single barely came off the bat with an exit velocity of 54.0 mph.

Luckiest hit: The weakest hit ball was also the luckiest hit. Tim Anderson’s fifth-inning single only had an xBA of .240.

Toughest out: Tim Anderson’s eighth-inning line out had an xBA of .550 but was ultimately gloved.

Longest hit: Luis Robert also had the longest hit, with a home run to the concourse, traveling 449 feet.

Magic Number: 13

I want to celebrate the heart and soul of this team, José Abreu, as he extended his hit streak to 13 games. If only he could be on a team that might just make the playoffs this year.

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