Six Pack of Stats: Marlins 5, White Sox 1
One run means nothing when you play a real baseball team
Say it with me, friends, “You can’t win a game with only one run.” That is especially true against this Marlins team, and several players that can put the ball in play. To make matters worse, Joe Kelly tried to close and failed miserably, giving up five runs. Let’s just get right into this embarrassing White Sox loss.
The Starters
Michael Kopech started the game by hitting two batters. Yes, two. But he bounced back and kept the Marlins scoreless through five. Kopech managed to get himself in and out of jams while managing to look solid. It was not his best day on the mound, but his ERA just keeps getting lower, so who cares? His slider looked better, and he struck six out. On the five hits he gave up, not a single one scored.
Kopech’s 100-pitch outing looked like this:
Sandy Alcántara finally bounced back after a rough few weeks. Of course, it would be against the Sox. Alcántara only gave up three hits, and one earned run. He was efficient through seven innings, with only 86 pitches, and probably could’ve kept going in the game.
Here’s the breakdown:
Pressure Play
The Tim Anderson error came with 5.56 LI and will live in infamy as the moment we knew the game was over. Joe Kelly loaded the bases up, and the mental error from Anderson allowed Bryan De La Cruz to reach on fielder’s choice as Jonathan Davis scored.
Pressure Cooker
Joe Kelly’s inning of horror landed him a scary 3.76 pLI.
Top Play
Joe Kelly set up the Marlins' win on a silver platter by allowing Jorge Soler to walk and fill the bases. This advanced Jonathan Davis and Luis Arráez, setting up the TA error on the next play. Soler’s gifted WPA climbed to .203.
Top Performer
Jorge Soler would help his team by getting three hits and a free pass in five plate appearances, walking away with the win and a .416 WPA.
Smackdown
Hardest hit: Jean Segura’s ninth-inning double not only added insult to injury but was also slammed at 111.4 mph.
Weakest contact: Luis Robert Jr. doesn’t often find himself on this list, but his tapper back to Sandy Alcántara in the first inning came at an excuse-me 57.5 mph.
Luckiest hit: Bryan De La Cruz got on base due to the atrocious fielding error, thus a .050 xBA.
Toughest out: It’s back-to-back with De La Cruz, this time with his seventh-inning liner with an .700 xBA.
Longest hit: To end this on an embarrassing note, Jean Segura’s fourth-inning line out went six feet longer (388 feet) than Andrew Vaughn’s home run (382). This is the second straight game where a non-homer was the longest hit of the contest.
Magic Number: 12
To end with some positive news, Luis Arráez struck out for only the 12th time this season thanks to our very own Gregory Santos.
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