Orioles 9, White Sox 0: Nothing to see here

The most exciting thing about this game is that Joan Jett was in the house! The “I Love Rock ’n Roll” superstar is a big-time Baltimore Orioles fan.

If she isn’t seriously the most adorable baseball fan. Don’t mind me why I fangirl.

I mean, she even demonstrated a screwball grip. What can’t this woman do?

Oh yeah, I guess the White Sox also attempted to play a baseball game.

It was another rough outing for Michael Kopech. Control issues and a high pitch count were again his nemesis. He didn’t have a single clean inning without a hit or a walk. The righty battled and escaped a jam in the second, but he couldn’t fight through all the traffic in the third and fourth. After 95 pitches, Kopech’s night ended, and he got tagged with the loss. Overall, his velocity was down on all his pitches, and his fastball topped at out 97.1 mph. He surrendered four runs on seven hits and four walks with five strikeouts in four innings.

On the flip side, while Chicago’s starting pitching was bad, Baltimore’s was good. Grayson Rodriguez has been fantastic since coming up from Triple-A after the All-Star break. Tonight, he earned his fourth quality start in the month of August as he surrendered no runs on one hit with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings.

Sammy Peralta came on in relief of Kopech and pitched really well. He’s been a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen since being recalled from Charlotte in July. The rookie hasn’t given up a single earned run in seven appearances. He gave up no hits with one walk and two strikeouts in three innings tonight.

Edgar Navarro, on the other hand, was absolutely awful. The Orioles tattooed him for five runs on four hits in the eighth inning. The 25-year-old rookie started the season in Double-A Birmingham, and the Sox quickly promoted him to Triple-A Charlotte after only seven games. He struggled for the Knights before being called to Chicago on Aug. 23.

The Pale Hose offense was dead; R.I.P. Two lonely hits by Luis Robert Jr., and that was it. Of course, La Pantera also had an amazing catch to rob Adley Rutschman of a double in the bottom of the eighth. So, Robert is a legit superstar playing on a team that completely stinks.

The Good Guys will be back at it tomorrow. Righthander Jesse Scholtens hits the bump and will go up against Dean Kremer at 6:05 p.m. CST.

Six Pack of Stats

Pressure Play
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the third inning, Ryan O’Hearn earned himself a 2.83 LI when he singled to center, scoring Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander.

Pressure Cooker
The heat of a red-hot Baltimore Orioles team baked up a steamy 1.10 pLI for Michael Kopech.

Top Play
O’Hearn’s single that gave the O’s a 2-0 lead secured him a 13.4% WPA.

Top Performer
Grayson Rodriguez was outstanding and easily took the game’s top prize. He improved to 4-3 on the season and had a 26.9% WPA.

Hardest Hit
Luis Robert Jr. punched a 110.3 mph single right off the back of pitcher Jacob Webb in the top of the seventh inning.

Weakest Contact
O’Hearn grounded out softly at 54.8 mph to Sammy Peralta in the bottom of the seventh.

Luckiest Hit
Santander’s single to right in the bottom of the third had a .160 xBA

Toughest Out
O’Hearn is all over this Six Pack. His fourth-inning ground out to Lenyn Sosa had a .670 xBA.

Longest Hit
Robert’s fourth-inning double went 398 feet, which was farther than Santander’s eighth-inning dinger.

Magic Number: -37
The White Sox team has -37 Defensive Runs Saved. Someone, please, anyone, find some players besides Robert who can play defense.