Six Pack of Stats: White Sox 7, Rangers 6

FanGraphs

The White Sox defeated the Rangers with a lot of drama, a lot of runs, and quite a controversial call. Elvis Andrus kept his former team on their toes with excellent offense — and a game-winning call at the plate that should’ve been an out, but was deemed a violation by the catcher after the call was challenged. This game was intense and exciting throughout, so let’s take a look at how it played out.

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The Starters

Dylan Cease was showing signs of what he was just months ago, with a nine-strikeout game. He had a 68% whiff rate on his slider against a team known for hitting sliders all season. Cease’s pitch count was a little high, at 101 for six innings, but he only gave up two earned runs on five hits and two walks.

Here’s the pitch breakdown:

Baseball Savant

Nathan Eovaldi is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now, and in a shocker, the White Sox actually roughed him up a little. Eovaldi gave up five hits, two home runs, and two walks for a total of four earned runs. Like Cease, Eovaldi also had a high pitch count (92) in six innings, but was only able to fan four.

Here’s the pitch breakdown:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

Jonah Heim grounded out to second with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. Heim had the best chance to put the Rangers ahead in the tie ballgame, but sulked back to the dugout with a 4.83 pLI instead.

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Pressure Cooker

Gregory Santos inherited quite the mess from a rare off-day version of Keynan Middleton. Santos allowed two hits and was taxed with two runs, but he kept the White Sox in the game while dealing with a 3.02 pLI.

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Top Play

Elvis Andrus started a two-out rally with his single to right. Luis Robert Jr. and José Rodríguez scored (in his first MLB appearance). Andrus was then able to advance to second. The smart play landed a .384 WPA for Andrus and gave Zach Remillard the best chance for an RBI to win.

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Top Performer

A lot of the Good Guys had a good night, but Elvis Andrus would take the top spot. With one home run and three RBIs off two hits, Andrus stole a run and a .482 WPA.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Corey Seager’s eighth-inning double off Aaron Bummer flew off of the bat at 112.2 mph.

Weakest contact: Adolis García’s ninth-inning liner was not only the first out in the ninth, but also the weakest hit at 65.6 mph.

Luckiest hit: Andrew Benintendi should’ve been out twice, with a fly out and a tag at second, but the Rangers fumbled both, giving Benintendi the hit despite an .040 xBA.

Toughest out: Yasmani Grandal’s bat made the home run noise with a .730 xBA, but was gloved at the warning track in the second.

Longest hit: The fifth-inning home run from Elvis Andrus traveled 407 feet.

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Magic Number: 18

Thanks, Cubs!

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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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