White Sox Stat of the Day: April 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the White Sox this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

April 30: Indians 5, White Sox 3 -- Yermín's record month
Yermín Mercedes finished 1-for-4 in Friday's loss, closing out his astonishing month of April with a .415 average and a 1.113 OPS. But the 28-year-old rookie also finished with 34 hits, marking the highest total ever for a White Sox rookie in March/April. The previous mark was held by José Abreu, who had 31 in 2014 when he went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year as a 27-year-old making his Major League debut. Abreu won the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 2020 during his seventh season.

April 29: White Sox 3, Tigers 1 (G1); White Sox 11, Tigers 0 (G2)
Dylan Cease was extremely impressive during Game 2 of the White Sox doubleheader sweep of the Tigers, hurling the first complete game and shutout of his career. But it stands to reason that nine-strikeout effort came against Detroit. Cease is 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA over six career starts against the Tigers and is the first White Sox pitcher to win each of his first six-plus career starts vs. a single opponent since Mark Buehrle won seven in row vs. Texas from 2001-05.

April 27: Tigers 5, White Sox 2 -- Anderson takes two free passes
Tim Anderson is used to making his way around the bases, but he doesn't take a walk to first base quite as often. In the series opener against Detroit, Anderson walked twice in a game for the first time since 2019. The last time he did so was also against the Tigers on Sept. 28, when he went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.

April 25: White Sox 8, Rangers 4 -- Kopech enters the K Zone
Michael Kopech set a career high with 10 strikeouts during his five-inning start on Sunday. Kopech actually recorded those 10 strikeouts in four innings, joining Carlos Rodón as the only White Sox starters to strike out 10-plus in four innings or fewer. Rodón fanned 11 in four innings against the Cubs on July 25, 2017. Kopech also set a career high with his 87 pitches thrown. Kopech has 27 strikeouts and four walks over 15 2/3 innings this season.

April 24: White Sox 2, Rangers 1 -- Hamilton's laser throw
Billy Hamilton paid immediate dividends as a defensive replacement for left fielder Andrew Vaughn in the seventh inning when he threw out Willie Calhoun at the plate on Nick Solak's single to end the inning and protect a 1-0 lead. Hamilton’s 95.1 mph throw marks the fourth-fastest tracked outfield assist this year, per Statcast. It’s tied for his 5th-fastest tracked by Statcast (since 2015). Catcher Yasmani Grandal caught the throw and made a great lunging tag back toward the plate to complete the play.

April 23: White Sox 9, Rangers 7 -- Mercedes won't slow down
Yermín Mercedes continues to hit. The White Sox designated knocked out three singles and a double, giving him a fifth game this season of three-plus hits. Mercedes became the sixth White Sox player in franchise history to record five three-plus hit efforts in the team's first 19 games of a season and first since Magglio Ordonez in 2002 (also five). Mercedes has two games of four-plus hits, including his season opening 5-for-5 showing in Anaheim, becoming just the second White Sox player in team history to record two four-plus-hit games in his first 18 career games, joining Maurice Archdeacon in 1923 (also two).

April 20: White Sox 8, Indians 5 -- Abreu dials long distance
José Abreu homered twice in the series opener at Progressive Field, giving him 202 career home runs and breaking a stretch of 47 plate appearances and 41 at-bats without going deep. The 115.6 mph exit velocity and the 458-foot projected distance on Abreu's first homer rates as his hardest-hit and longest blast since Statcast was introduced in 2015. Abreu has 18 multihomer games, putting him behind only Paul Konerko (29) and Frank Thomas (26) in club history and leaving him tied for fourth with Tony Oliva all-time among Cuban-born players.

April 19: Red Sox 11, White Sox 4 -- Yermín's pitching debut
Yermín Mercedes has been an offensive force for the White Sox -- and he's got an arm, too. With a taxed bullpen, Chicago sent the slugger to the mound in the seventh inning. His four-seam fastball landed for a called strike six times and reached 87.7 mph.

April 18: White Sox 3, Red Sox 2 (G1); White Sox 5, Red Sox 1 (G2) -- Another long HR for Yermín
Yermín Mercedes hit a home run a Statcast-projected 431 feet in the nightcap at Fenway Park, the fourth-longest homer in the Majors on Sunday. Yet it wasn't a particularly long one for Mercedes -- of his three other homers this season, only a 421-foot blast on April 3 was shorter.

April 17: Red Sox 7, White Sox 4 -- Consistency from Abreu
José Abreu went 2-for-4 with a single and double against the Red Sox to extend his on-base streak to 16 games. His streak started Sept. 26, 2020, when he went 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

April 15: Indians 4, White Sox 2 -- Sox pitchers finally yield a hit
Beginning with the final two outs in the 10th inning Tuesday, White Sox pitching forced Cleveland hitters into an 0-for-35 skid until Jake Bauers doubled to open the third Thursday afternoon against Lance Lynn. That streak included 27 hitless outs recorded by Carlos Rodón on Wednesday, along with one hit batsman with one out in the ninth, as the left-hander threw the 20th no-hitter in franchise history.

April 14: Chicago 8, Cleveland 0 -- Rodón's no-no and TJ surgery
Carlos Rodón threw the 20th no-hitter in franchise history Wednesday night in an 8-0 victory over Cleveland. Rodón had Tommy John surgery on May 15, 2019, and became the first MLB pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter within two years of having that operation. Rodón also recorded his second career complete game and his first shutout, while Chicago's 20 no-hitters rank second behind the Dodgers at 26. Rodón went four-seam heavy with 57 of them averaging 95 mph and topping out at 98.8.

April 13: Indians 2, White Sox 0 -- Rotation revving up
Lucas Giolito is not the only White Sox starting pitcher turning things up a notch as the season progresses. After Giolito's 7-plus scoreless innings on Tuesday against Cleveland, White Sox starters are 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA, 58 strikeouts and a .196 opponents’ average in 50 1/3 innings over the past nine games. That stretch includes Lance Lynn's shutout in the home opener.

April 12: White Sox 4, Indians 3 -- Getting some revenge
An odd walk-off victory for the White Sox ended a six-game losing streak to Cleveland. That skid included a four-game sweep executed by the Indians at Progressive Field from Sept. 21-24 last season, helping to knock the White Sox from a potential No. 2 seed in the postseason to the seventh slot during the final week. The White Sox are 33-54 against Cleveland since 2016, but they are 14-3 over their last 17 home games against American League Central opponents.

April 11: Royals 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings) -- No more streaking
Sunday's 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Royals brought an end to a pair of significant White Sox successful runs. Their 17-game winning streak against left-handed starters was snapped, although Kansas City southpaw Mike Minor did not figure in the final decision. That 17-game winning streak, dating back to Sept. 28, 2019 against Tyler Alexander and the Tigers, was the second-longest such streak in Major League history; the Braves won 18 straight against left-handed starters in 2004-05. The White Sox also had their six-game winning streak against the Royals ended, after posting a 9-1 record vs. Kansas City in 2020 and winning Thursday's home opener.

April 8: White Sox 6, Royals 0 -- Mercedes hits one to the moon
Yermín Mercedes’ 485-foot, first-inning home run off Brad Keller is the third longest hit by a White Sox player in Guaranteed Rate Field history, trailing only Joe Borchard (504 feet vs. the Phillies on Aug. 30, 2004) and Frank Thomas (495 feet vs. the Twins on July 23, 2002). Mercedes' blast also represented Chicago's second longest homer tracked by Statcast (postseason included) behind Luis Robert’s 487-foot drive in Oakland during Game 3 of last season’s American League Wild Card Series.

April 7: Mariners 8, White Sox 4 -- Abreu's rare steal
José Abreu’s steal of second base in the first inning was his first stolen base in almost exactly two years. His most recent steal had been April 14, 2019, when he swiped two bags against the Yankees for his only steals of that season. In fact, Abreu last year became the first position player to win the MVP without a stolen base since Ryan Howard in 2006 and the first to do so in the AL since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983.

April 6: White Sox 10, Mariners 4 -- Giolito racks up strikeouts
Lucas Giolito fanned 10 over 5 1/3 innings Tuesday night in Seattle, marking the 11th game he has hit double digits in his White Sox career. That ties him with Billy Pierce for sixth on the all-time franchise list. Giolito struck out five straight over two perfect innings to start the game. The right-hander has a total of 18 strikeouts and three walks over 10 2/3 innings this season, and on Tuesday his fastball velocity ranged between 92.7 and 94.8 mph, per Statcast.

April 5: White Sox 6, Mariners 0 -- Multi-hit Mercedes
Yermín Mercedes was one of the last guys to be selected for the White Sox Opening Day roster, but is playing like he'll be one of the first guys to be picked for the American League All-Star team. Mercedes knocked out three hits in a 6-0 victory over the Mariners. The designated hitter has compiled games with five hits, three hits and three hits among the four he has started. Mercedes has hit in every game played and has recorded six two-out hits this season.

April 4: Angels 7, White Sox 4 -- 3 runs, 1 hit
The White Sox didn't do much with Angels starter Shohei Ohtani, but they didn't have to during a three-run fifth inning to tie the game at 3. Nick Madrigal had the only hit in the frame, a single to center, followed by two-out walks to Adam Eaton and José Abreu and an Ohtani wild pitch to score Madrigal. Angels manager Joe Maddon allowed Ohtani to work out of his own jam, and Ohtani appeared to escape by striking out Yoán Moncada swinging on a 3-2 pitch. But catcher Max Stassi couldn't hold on to the ball, and when his throw one-hopped first baseman Jared Walsh, both Eaton and Abreu were able to score on the passed ball/E-2 combination.

April 3: Angels 5, White Sox 3 -- Lynn falls just short of 100
Lance Lynn entered his White Sox debut with a streak of 37 straight starts in which he threw at least 100 pitches. It's a testament to his true desire to consistently work deep into games. But that streak came to an end against the Angels when Lynn was lifted in the fifth after walking Anthony Rendon on pitch No. 99. Lynn thought that pitch should have been an inning-ending strikeout, but home-plate umpire David Rackley disagreed.

April 2: White Sox 12, Angels 8 -- Abreu and 200
José Abreu's third-inning grand slam against the Angels, the third of his career, not only gave the White Sox the lead but also gave him 199 overall and moved him within one of becoming the fifth player in White Sox history to reach 200. He also would become the sixth Cuban-born player to reach that impressive total.

April 1: Angels 4, White Sox 3 -- Giolito on attack with changeup
Lucas Giolito struck out eight Angels over 5 1/3 innings on Opening Day, relying on an almost unhittable changeup. The right-hander threw 29 changes overall, had 18 swings on the pitch and 12 whiffs. Those 12 whiffs were just short of Giolito's career high of 13 with that pitch coming in his no-hitter hurled against the Pirates last season.