Six Pack of Stats: Astros 6, White Sox 4

Apr 1, 2023 - 10:53 PM

@FanGraphs

Is it Groundhog Day? I’m pretty sure I covered this game last night. The White Sox collapse in the last few innings while the Astros break the tie and take the lead. Despite a last-minute rally and runners at the corners, the White Sox couldn’t bring in more than one runner during a ninth-inning rally.

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The Starters

Lucas Giolito started the game a little shaky, and seemed to labor for the first two innings. Luckily, he bounced back and his command approved. His fifth inning was truly special, as he tore through the heart of the Astros. His fastball did quite well, but he worked with his changeup until the velocity started going back up. Giolito allowed five hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts in five innings.

Giolito’s 97-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

José Urquidy somehow had the worse start today. He faced more pressure than Giolito by allowing seven hits and three earned runs. Urquidy also ended the day with just five strikeouts in four innings. The velocity for his pitches was high, but instead of perfecting one or two pitches, he went with four, and nothing clicked.

Urquidy’s 82-pitch outing looked like this:

Baseball Savant

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Pressure Play

With Elvis Andrus at the plate, runners at the corners, and a struggling Héctor Neris, the White Sox had a chance to get back on top. Unfortunately, Andrus struck out swinging. The LI for the play was 4.43.

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Pressure Cooker

Elvis Andrus killing any kind of rally by chasing balls out of the zone put immense pressure on the Sox, with a pLI of 2.07.

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Top Play

Seby Zavala’s two-run home run pushed the White Sox into a great position. Oscar Colás made it home and it put the White Sox up. The WPA for the homer was .245.

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Top Performer

Kyle Tucker takes the game with his two hits and two RBIs. His WPA was 0.30.

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Smackdown

Hardest hit: Yordan Álvarez smoked a single off Gregory Santos in the eighth. The ball left the bat at 109.8 mph.

Weakest contact: While Seby Zavala had a decent game, he still dribbled a ball 48.3 mph for a single in the third.

Luckiest hit: José Abreu’s eighth-inning single only had an xBA of .170.

Toughest out: Elvis Andrus almost had a hit in the sixth with an xBA of .690, but it ended as a line out instead.

Longest hit: Kyle Tucker had a fly out that traveled 404 feet, but Seby Zavala’s fourth-inning home run traveled 389.

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Magic Number: 0-2

Like the White Sox, my coverage isn’t starting out too hot, either. Maybe they’ll earn the split tomorrow, while I’m not around to watch or cover.

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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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