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Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 2, Guardians 0

The South Siders blanked Cleveland in the division matchup

The White Sox held the win expectancy battle from the sixth inning onward, thanks to an RBI single from José Abreu.
FanGraphs

On Saturday, the Chicago defeated Cleveland, 2-0, at Progressive Field. The White Sox move to 62-59, now 2 12 games behind the 64-56 Guardians for the AL Central crown.


The Starters

Johnny Cueto started for the White Sox, pitching 8 23 scoreless on five hits and a walk while striking out two.

Cueto used a six-pitch arsenal in his 113-pitch start, throwing his 4-seamer 29 times. He had the most CSW success with his slider, generating eight called strikes from his 17 sliders. While losing spin from his three most-used pitches, Cueto gained velocity on three of his four top pitches.

Cueto’s breakdown looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Shane Bieber took the mound for the Guardians. Bieber went 6 13 innings, giving up an earned run on five hits and three walks while striking out four.

Bieber used a five-pitch arsenal in his 99-pitch start, using his slider 30 times. He had the most CSW success with his 4-seamer (minimum five pitches), generating eight called strikes and a whiff for a 36% CSW rate. Bieber gained spin on his entire arsenal.

Here’s how Bieber’s start shook out:

Baseball Savant

Pressure Play

With one on, nobody out in the bottom of the eighth, Guardians center fielder Myles Straw reached on a fielder’s choice with an out at second base.

The play had a game-high 3.03 LI.


Pressure Cooker

Straw had a 2.00 pLI from the bottom of the order, going 0-for-3.


Top Play

With one on, one out in a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth, White Sox first baseman José Abreu doubled to center to put Chicago ahead, 1-0.

The RBI double added .186 WPA for the White Sox.


Top Performer

Cueto added .569 WPA (!) for the White Sox in his 8 23 scoreless innings of work.


Smackdown

Luckiest hit: White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a .100 xBA single in the top of the seventh.

Toughest out: White Sox shortstop Elvis Andrus hit a .720 xBA line out in the top of the second.

Hardest hit: Guardians DH Oscar Gonzalez hit a 108.6 mph single in the bottom of the fifth.

Weakest contact: White Sox left fielder AJ Pollock hit a 49.8 mph ground out leading off the game.

Longest hit: Abreu’s go-ahead double was hit 392 feet.


Magic Number: 4

The White Sox are now four games above .500 on the road this season. Their 32-28 away record is the best in the AL Central.


Glossary

Hard-hit is any ball off the bat at 95 mph or more
LI measures pressure per play
pLId 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 the White Sox MVP in the 2-0 win against the Guardians?

This poll is closed

  • 100%
    Johnny Cueto: 8.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, .569 WPA
    (34 votes)
  • 0%
    José Abreu: 1-for-3, RBI, .159 WPA
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Liam Hendriks: 0.1 IP, K, .043 WPA
    (0 votes)
  • 0%
    Luis Robert: 1-for-3. R, BB, K, .040 WPA
    (0 votes)
34 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Who was the White Sox Cold Cat in the 2-0 win against the Guardians?

This poll is closed

  • 88%
    Yoán Moncada: 0-for-4, K, -.132 WPA
    (23 votes)
  • 3%
    AJ Pollock: 0-for-4, -.061 WPA
    (1 vote)
  • 7%
    Josh Harrison: 0-for-3, K, -.007 WPA
    (2 votes)
26 votes total Vote Now