Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 4, Rockies 2

The White Sox are back in town briefly, to host the Rockies while looking to rack up some wins in September as the postseason rapidly approaches. Thanks to some big hits from José Abreu and Eloy Jiménez, the White Sox opened the series with a much-needed win.

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The Starters

Despite losing his command for about three batters in the third inning, Michael Kopech had really good stuff tonight. That’s promising, as he is taking on the toll of a full season as an MLB starter for the first time. The White Sox offense had a hot start, and in turn, helped Kopech feel a bit more comfortable on the mound. He also heavily relied on his fastball, and it worked out: Kopech went five innings and allowed just three hits and two runs while fanning three. This feels like a good direction for Kopech to be facing as we glide through September.

Kopech’s 80-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

Chad Kuhl had a rough first inning, allowing two baserunners in the first for Eloy Jiménez to plate with a big home run. Kuhl allowed six hits, two walks, and three runs. He did fan five and was economical with his pitching, but that didn’t do much for the Rockies, who were held to just two runs during his 6 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Kuhl’s 83-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

Yonathan Daza had a full count and one runner on in the eighth inning, but Kendall Graveman got him to strike out swinging for the second out. The play reached an LI of 2.90.

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Pressure Cooker

Kendall Graveman faced the most pressure, with his tight eighth through some traffic. Thankfully, he was able to fan two and keep the White Sox lead intact. Graveman’s pLI was 2.16.

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Top Play

Eloy Jiménez takes this one! His run in the first inning sent two home, giving the White Sox an early lead. The WPA for his home run was .189.

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Top Performer

It’s a tie! Eloy Jiménez and Kendall Graveman both has a WPA of .012. Jiménez certainly gave the White Sox the lead early on, and Graveman helped hold the lead and hand over an easy close for Liam Hendriks.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Ryan McMahon eked out a win against Eloy Jiménez. McMahon’s ground out in the fifth left the bat at 113.7 mph. Meanwhile, Jiménez’s first-inning three-run home run was 110.7 mph.

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Weakest contact: Yonathan Daza gently hit the ball at 79 mph for a single in the sixth.

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Luckiest hit: Yasmani Grandal’s seventh-inning single only had an xBA of .320.

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Toughest out: Brendan Rogers lined out in the second inning despite having an xBA of .700.

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Longest hit: We all know it was Eloy Jiménez! His three-run home run traveled 428 feet.

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Magic Number: 37

José Abreu snapped a 37-game homerless drought with his eighth-inning blast. His last home run was on August 3. Unrelated to 37, but this was career home run No. 243 for Abreu.

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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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