Seby Zavala Goes From Game-Calling To Game-Changing
After Lucas Giolito looked over the pregame plan on how to attack the Yankees lineup, he made the decision to put his catcher Seby Zavala. He wanted to get into the zone and not overthink things by letting Zavala’s game-calling lead the way.
Giolito’s faith in Zavala’s game-calling paid off. The 6’6″ right-hander threw six no-hit innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. The only thing that could stop Giolito was his pitch count. After throwing 100 pitches through six innings, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol opted to turn the no-hitter over to the bullpen.
“He was really good,” Zavala said. “Exexuted the game plan really well. He’s back to where he was. Just got back to what he does.”
Unsung Hero Behind the Plate.
While Zavala has not been much of a factor offensively, his game-calling abilities have received rave reviews from his pitching staff. After Lance Lynn’s first start working with Zavala in 2021, he made a point to compliment his new battery mate.
“He was on top of things, knew exactly what I like to do, how I like to do it and we had no issues,” Lynn said.
These are the type of things that don’t show up in the box score or a wRC+. But they can make the difference between winning and losing a ball game.
The White Sox have shown that they will only go as far as their starting pitching takes them. The club is 6-4 in their last ten games. White Sox starters have a combined 2.37 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched. That includes three quality starts and five shutout innings from Mike Clevinger.
Zavala’s efforts behind the plate often get overlooked for his lack of production offensively. A .170 batting average and .522 OPS will do that to you.
However, his pitch framing ranks in the 72nd percentile for a reason. He knows how to manipulate a game and was able to steal strikes for his pitchers all night.
The no-hitter was finally broken up after a miscommunication between Luis Robert and Andrew Benintendi in left-center field in the seventh inning. But the bullpen was still able to hang onto the three-run lead, and Liam Hendriks was able to pick up his first save since returning from cancer.
That lead came courtesy of Seby Zavala.
Zavala Makes History
In the top of the third inning, Zavala opened the scoring with a home run to right field off Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt. The ball traveled just 320 feet and would only have gone out in one of 30 MLB ballparks, according to StatCase.
In the fifth inning, the White Sox backup catcher followed that up with a no-doubter. He unloaded on a Schmidt cutter, sending hit 435 feet to left field. The two-run blast left his bat at 109.8 mph and would have been out in every ballpark.
That was the only offense the White Sox would need in their 3-2 victory.
The pair of home runs was the White Sox first multi-home run game at Yankee Stadium since Eloy Jimenez on April 12th, 2019. It was also the first time a hitter batting ninth had ever hit two home runs against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Hitting Homers In Bunches.
Seby Zavala rarely hits home runs. But when he does, they come in bunches. The 29-year-old catcher has 11 career home runs. Five of those came in two games.
Wednesday’s performance marked the White Sox first multi-home run game out of the nine spot since Zavala did it back in 2021.
On July 31st, 2021, Zaval hit three home runs, including his first career homer and a grand slam against the Cleveland Guardians. The three blasts traveled a combined distance of 1,157 feet and the six RBIs that came from them are tied for the second-most by a White Sox hitter in the No. 9 spots in the order. Zavala also became the first White Sox catcher to record three home runs in a game.