June 17 will forever be remembered as the Zach Remillard Game
The White Sox and Mariners have split the series after extra innings with a solid bullpen, throwing six shutout innings, and 29-year-old rookie making his MLB debut. I knew this would be a close and low-scoring series, but I was not ready for a 3-3 ballgame going into 11 innings. This win was desperately needed, so let’s check out how the White Sox pulled it off.
Lucas Giolito had a rough afternoon on the mound, lacking both command and velocity. In five innings, Giolito gave up eight hits, three walks, and was charged with two earned runs on 105 pitches. He was able to fan five, but it wouldn’t be enough to help his team, walking off with a -0.16 WPA. His velocity on his fastball only reached 93.7 mph.
Here’s the pitch breakdown:
Logan Gilbert’s afternoon was similar to Giolito’s. Neither had the best start, but Gilbert was just a bit better. Gilbert went 5 1⁄3 innings, allowing six hits, three walks, three strikeouts, and two earned runs. Both pitchers gave up a home run. Gilbert was also a little more economical, throwing just 80 pitches.
Here’s the pitch breakdown:
Jose Caballero’s pop out to second came under 7.09 LI; the Mariners had two on and one out in the 11th, but couldn’t execute a play and get anyone home to tie or win the game.
This entire game was high leverage, but it one player really faced the most, with a 5.41 pLI. Jesse Scholtens was tasked with saving the game in the 11th, and he was able to do just that, while escaping a jam in the process.
Zach Remillard’s RBI single to center in the 11th carried a .349 WPA, putting the White Sox in the lead as Elvis Andrus scored and Andrew Benintendi advanced to third.
I’m not lying when I say this is the highest WPA I’ve witnessed in FanGraphs in my three seasons of coverage. Hero of the game Zach Remillard not only had the RBI to tie, the RBI to put the South Siders in the lead, but took care of the last out. He ended his day with an outstanding .763 WPA.
(Meanwhile, the rest of the White Sox lineup was good for ... -.632 WPA!)
Hardest hit: Julio Rodriguez smoked the ball at 106.8 mph, but was stopped at first for a single.
Weakest contact: With runners at first and second and two outs in a tie game in the top of the ninth, Eloy Jiménez ended the inning with a 57.4 mph comebacker to Mariners closer Paul Sewald.
Luckiest hit: Zach Remillard’s game-tying, seventh-inning bunt single only had a .270 xBA.
Toughest out: Luis Robert Jr. had a .350 xBA, but grounded out into a double play in the seventh.
Longest hit: Eloy Jiménez started the second inning with a hot bat, launching a ball to the sun with a 418-foot homer.
Making his MLB debut today, 29-year-old rookie Zach Remillard carried the team on his back for the three most important plays to knot the series in Seattle. He wasn’t even supposed to play today, but came in for an injured Tim Anderson.
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
