Boxscore Breakdown #121: Snake eyes – White Sox 8, Angels 2

The Angels had won three in a row coming into this game, but did so on the back of a whole lot of luck. Well, Thursday night the Angels rolled snake eyes. The hard luck offense fell on even harder luck. The overachieving rotation was let down by the defense and by the BABIP gods. Let’s just hope they still have that rabbit’s foot dangling from the stem of a four-leaf clover is still intact but that the Angels just left it in their other pants for the evening.

White Sox 8, Angels 2

Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/19Q6Uwm_5GQoYJsKvsvQZXE-ZvNVC83hpY85yHlImIYY/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /] The top of their order did a pretty decent job, so that is a step forward, but the bottom half of the order didn’t do a darn thing. Even with all that, let’s just all be glad that Mike Trout had a good game, temporarily dispelling the notion that his wrist is hindering him.

[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/19Q6Uwm_5GQoYJsKvsvQZXE-ZvNVC83hpY85yHlImIYY/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /] Everyone but Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia played a role in this drubbing, although they both reached base once themselves. This was a pretty good night for what might well be the worst offense in baseball. I was talking about the White Sox, not the Angels, but I understand your confusion.

Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/19Q6Uwm_5GQoYJsKvsvQZXE-ZvNVC83hpY85yHlImIYY/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /] Nick Tropeano hardly made the demotion of Shoemaker worthwhile, though the defense didn’t exactly help him much. He didn’t get immediately demoted after the game though, so it looks like we will see him make at least one more start before rosters expand. Jose Quintana easily could’ve had his night go south, but he harnessed the power of the Angels’ incredible inability to hit with runners in scoring position.

Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/19Q6Uwm_5GQoYJsKvsvQZXE-ZvNVC83hpY85yHlImIYY/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /] The good news is that Cesar Ramos looked a whole helluva lot better. The bad news is that Cam Bedrosian is in his 107th go around with the big league club and doesn’t look one iota more big league ready. The piss poor White Sox bullpen only allowed one batter to reach base over three innings, stifling any hopes of a comeback that nobody was actually harboring.

Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/19Q6Uwm_5GQoYJsKvsvQZXE-ZvNVC83hpY85yHlImIYY/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /] That fateful fifth inning really changed the complexion of this game.

Halo A-Hole

So this game was a sterling example of why I can’t buy into C.J. Cron. I know Cron has been putting up good numbers of late, but when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning with the bases loaded to face a pitcher that had just walked two batters on nine pitches and shown no command of his breaking ball, Cron committed the unforgivable sin of swinging at a first pitch breaking ball. The most troubling part about that was that I and several others on Twitter, totally saw it coming:

Cron shouldn't swing first pitch but probably will. Either way, gotta be patient against a guy who is having trouble locating.

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) August 21, 2015

WELP https://t.co/psId4U79RV

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) August 21, 2015

In the fifth inning, he tried to atone for his impatience, but because he has poor command of the strike zone, he ended up striking out looking with two runners on base and Quintana on the ropes.