Six Pack of Stats: Royals 9, White Sox 1

FanGraphs

The White Sox once again struggle to win two in a row, even against the Royals, a team that was three games behind them coming into tonight.

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The Starters

Lance Lynn had a terrible first inning, again. While he was able to be more consistent after the first, it was too little, too late. It’s hard enough for this team to crawl back up from a one-run deficit, and nearly impossible when Lynn gives up four runs in the first. Lynn somehow struck out four but gave up nine hits, and two walks, and was charged with seven earned runs. He made it through five innings with 98 pitches.

Lynn’s 98-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

During the good times, Brad Keller would often get shellacked by Tim Anderson and company. Tonight? Not so much. Keller wasn’t even all that good, with just four strikeouts and four walks. But it was more than enough to keep the South Siders completely lost at the plate. He was charged with the single earned run.

Keller’s 88-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

The second inning was not great for the White Sox, even with two on and no outs. The player that started the rally of bad with a 1.94 LI was Seby Zavala, as he struck out swinging.

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Pressure Cooker

Somehow Brad Keller faced the most pressure (1.03 pLI). He allowed three hits and four walks, though the White Sox continued to fail to capitalize due to terrible fundamentals.

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Top Play

The game was over in the first inning, as soon as Salvador Pérez doubled to left and drove in Vinnie Pasquantino. The birthday boy walked away with a .096 WPA.

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Top Performer

Brad Keller not only gets the win but walks away with a .154 WPA by holding the White Sox to just one run.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Salvador Pérez split the game wide open in the first with his 110.6 mph double to left.

Weakest contact: Vinnie Pasquantino’s fourth-inning single slid off the bat at 47.2 mph.

Luckiest hit: Matt Duffy’s weak first-inning single only had an .060 xBA.

Toughest out: Bobby Witt Jr.’s sixth-inning pop was gloved, despite an .800 xBA.

Longest hit: Edward Olivares’ impactful seventh-inning home run traveled 418 feet.

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Magic Number: 63-27

In Lynn’s eight starts, the White Sox have been outhit 63 to 27. Yes, you read that right.

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Glossary

CSW called strikes plus whiffs
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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No MVP poll, because no one deserves it tonight. Everyone was garbage.

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