Six Pack of Stats: Rangers 3, White Sox 2
Benintendi homers, still hitting .199
Seriously, what are we supposed to say here? Jon Gray shook off all signs of proper grooming as well as any threat from the White Sox offense, suffocating the Chisox on four hits and one run over 7 2⁄3 innings. There was also terrible fundamental play in the game, as Korey Lee, Garret Crochet and Nicky Lopez got completely flummoxed at a double steal that saw Josh Smith swipe home. And later, a Smith double was basically a fly ball that Gavin Sheets watched bounce right next to him in right field.
At this juncture, the White Sox are EIGHT GAMES worse than the club record-holder for season losses (1970, 106). There are just EIGHT TEAMS in major league history worse than these White Sox through 103 games, and none of them played baseball after 1962.
Top Play
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The biggest WPA swing — in part because the Rangers had upped their chances of victory from 50% to 71% in the very first inning — came when Eloy Jiménez doubled Gavin Sheets to third in the top of the second inning, an 11.2% WPA play. With ducks on the pond and nobody out, how close to erasing or at least cutting into Texas’ 2-0 lead did the White Sox come?
To answer the rhetorical question, Paul DeJong whiffed, Nicky Lopez popped out, Brooks Baldwin whiffed for a total of ... zero runs scored.
Top Performer
Jon Gray, by an uncommonly massive amount, takes game honors with a 44.3% WPA. Runner-up was Kirby Yates at a meager 8.7% WPA.
Hardest Hit
This was a weird game, with a low (104.5 mph) top velo, made weirder still that it came on a Jonathan Ornelas ground out to second base in the seventh.
Weakest Contact
A 55.0 mph ground out to short in the fifth by Josh Smith was the weakest non-bunt contact in the game.
Luckiest Hit
Josh Smith doubled weakly to right field in the eighth that was tagged with a ridiculous .030 xBA. I do not claim to know the methodology of xBA per se, but this would seem to indict Gavin Sheets’ jump on a catchable ball.
OK, holy crap, I was not wrong:
Toughest Out
Jonathan Ornelas did not just sport the top velo, but that 104.5 mph grounder had a .560 xBA. He got ripped off, for sure.
Longest Hit
All hat and no cattle Andrew Benintendi got his average back up to .199 with an eighth inning home run of 377 feet ripped down the right field line and deep — a homer in all 30 MLB parks.
Futility Watch
White Sox 2024 Record 27-76, worst 103-game start in White Sox history (8 games worse than the next-worst, 1970 White Sox), tied for ninth-worst start all-time, and a season-worst 49 games under .500
White Sox 2024 Run Differential -193, tied for 36th-worst 103-game start in MLB history and a White Sox season-worst
White Sox 2024 Season Record Pace 42-120 (.262)
Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2003 Tigers, 43-119) 1 game worse
Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120) 1 games better
Race to the Most White Sox Losses (1970, 106) 14 games worse
Race to the Worst White Sox Record (1932, 52-109-1*) 10 1⁄2 games worse
Race to the Worst American League Record (1916 A’s, 38-124*) 4 games better
*record adjusted to a 162-game season
Glossary
WPA win probability added measures contributions to the win
xBA expected batting average