White Sox Stat of the Day: August 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.

• White Sox Stat of the Day: July 2021

Aug. 31: White Sox 4, Pirates 2 -- Robert's unreal catch
Luis Robert was hitless in four at-bats, but he certainly made a contribution with his defense in center. Robert took extra bases away from Jacob Stallings to end the eighth, making a running, diving catch in left-center rated as a 5-star catch with a 20 percent catch probability. It was Robert's second career 5-star catch, after recording a 15 percenter in '20. Robert won the Gold Glove in '20 and was one of five outfielders who had at least +6 outs above average in 2020. Robert punctuated his evening by making a sliding catch coming in on Yoshi Tsutsugo's fly ball to open the ninth.

Aug. 29: White Sox 13, Cubs 1 -- Abreu is 100
Jose Abreu reached 100 RBIs for the sixth time in seven full seasons with the White Sox, courtesy of a two-run double in the fifth inning. Abreu finished with 60 RBIs in 60 games during his 2020 American League Most Valuable Player performance and drove in 78 in 2018. The first baseman is trying to join Detoit's Cecil Fielder (1990-92) as the only players in history to lead the American League in RBIs in three straight seasons. Abreu leads the Majors this season with 101 RBIs and ranks seventh in White Sox history with 772.

Aug. 28: Cubs 7, White Sox 0 -- Moncada keeps hitting
Yoán Moncada was one of the few bright spots in this one, as the third baseman extended his hitting streak to a career-high-tying 14 games. Moncada had two hits on the night, marking his 27th multihit game of the season and ranking him third in that category on the White Sox. The switch-hitter is slashing .358/.443/.453 with two doubles, one home run, five RBIs and nine runs scored during the streak.

Aug. 27: White Sox 17, Cubs 13 -- Sox offense doubles up
The White Sox scored a total of 11 runs during a recent five-game stretch against the Rays and Blue Jays, losing four of those five. But these offensive woes are a thing of the past, as the White Sox scored 10 in victory Thursday to top the Blue Jays in the finale of a seven-game road trip, then posted 17 runs during a slugfest win over the Cubs on Friday night. It's the first time the White Sox scored 10-plus runs in back-to-back games since April 24-25, 2017, vs. the Royals.

Aug. 26: White Sox 10, Blue Jays 7 -- Kimbrel adds Chicago save
With Liam Hendriks firmed positioned as the White Sox closer, save opportunities won't come as often as they used to for MLB's active saves leader Craig Kimbrel. But Kimbrel worked around a two-out single in the ninth in the series finale to earn his first save with the White Sox. Having started the season as the Cubs' closer, Kimbrel now has earned a save for both Chicago teams. He joined teammate Ryan Tepera as the only players to record a save on both the North and South Side in the same season (Tepera also did it in 2021).

Aug. 25: Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1 -- García the base thief
Leury García had just three steals in his first 95 games this season, but he nearly doubled that tally in game No. 96. After leading off the third inning with a single, García swiped second and third base with relative ease, marking his first multi-steal game since Aug. 10, 2019, against the Athletics. García has never stolen more than two bases in a game, and he might've had a chance to try for a third one after singling in the seventh inning if there wasn't already a runner occupying second base.

Aug. 24: White Sox 5, Blue Jays 2 -- Getting to Berríos
The White Sox have traditionally not enjoyed facing José Berríos, but something changed this season. The White Sox have handed him an 0-3 record and a 5.57 ERA in four starts, including a four-run, nine-hit effort over three innings on Tuesday. Prior to this season, Berríos was 12-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 starts against Chicago.

Aug. 23: Blue Jays 2, White Sox 1 -- Lynn's ERA
Lance Lynn has been among baseball's best pitchers all season, and now he can be recognized for it in a more "qualified" way. By allowing on run over seven-innings on Monday, he surpassed the minimum innings threshold required to qualify for the ERA title. With a 2.20 ERA in 130 2/3 innings, Lynn now owns the lowest ERA in the American League. He has been steadily productive in his career, but he's only pitched to a sub-3.00 ERA once before (2.97 with the Cardinals in 2014).

Aug. 22: Rays 9, White Sox 0 -- The agony of defeat
White Sox manager Tony La Russa said, "Nobody had any fun" in this game, and we can safely assume he was talking about his team. Chicago's 9-0 loss marked its largest margin of defeat this season, and largest since a 10-0 defeat to the crosstown-rival Cubs on Sept. 25, 2020. On the bright side, the White Sox have won nine games by nine or more runs this year.

Aug. 21: Rays 8, White Sox 4 -- Abreu an RBI machine
As the White Sox tried to make an offensive push in the eighth inning, it should come as no surprise that first baseman José Abreu was in the middle of the action. Abreu lifted a sac fly to right field for RBI No. 92 on the season, most in the Majors. The reigning American League MVP is on pace to lead the AL in RBIs for a third consecutive season, which has been done only once before (Cecil Fielder, 1990-92 with the Tigers).

Aug. 20: White Sox 7, Rays 5 (11 innings) -- Marathon men
The White Sox probably weren't expecting to work overtime after handing a lead to their bullpen in the eighth inning. But that's what happened, and in the end their 11-inning win marked their longest game of the past two seasons. The last game they played that surpassed 11 innings was a 12-inning loss to the Twins on Sept. 17, 2019. Of course, the automatic runner rule has been in place since the start of last season, which has likely contributed to fewer marathon matches.

Aug. 19: A's 5, White Sox 4 -- Vaughn builds power supply
Andrew Vaughn briefly gave the White Sox a 3-2 advantage in the fifth inning of the eventual loss to Oakland via a two-run homer on an 0-2 pitch from A's starter Cole Irvin. The home run was Vaughn's 15th of the season, giving him four homers and 10 RBIs in his last 12 starts. The rookie also has eight homers at Guaranteed Rate Field and eight homers against left-handed pitching, and 11 of his homers this season have given the White Sox the lead.

Aug. 18: White Sox 3, A's 2 -- Robert keeps hitting
Luis Robert does not consider himself at 100 percent physically since coming back from a right hip flexor tear, which should frighten the opposition a bit, considering his great current results coming at less than perfect. Robert has hit safely in six of his seven games since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 9, going 12-for-28 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and four multi-hit games. Robert has three hits in each of his two games played against Oakland during this four-game set.

Aug. 17: White Sox 9, A's 0 -- Abreu nears greats with HR
José Abreu's three-run home run in the fourth inning turned what was shaping up as a decisive White Sox victory into an eventual 9-0 blowout. The blast to left from the first baseman marked his 25th of the season, giving him six seasons (out of eight) with 25-plus home runs. Abreu's six such seasons are the third-most in White Sox history, trailing only Hall of Famer Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko, who are tied for the franchise record with 10. Abreu's 89 RBIs also leave him tied with Boston's Rafael Devers for the RBI lead in the Majors. Abreu has topped the AL in that category in each of the last two seasons.

Aug. 16: White Sox 5, A's 2 -- Kimbrel reaches 1,000 strikeouts
After 12 seasons, 630 games and 613 innings, Craig Kimbrel picked up his 1,000th career strikeout. And the strikeout had meaning, as opposed to some throwaway out with a big lead or a big deficit. With runners on second and third and one out in the eighth, Kimbrel threw six pitches to Matt Chapman and none of them were in the strike zone, per Statcast. But Chapman swung wildly at three knuckle-curves and punched out. Kimbrel fanned the side, giving him 75 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings between the Cubs and White Sox this season.

Aug. 15: Yankees 5, White Sox 3 -- La Russa gets 90th hook
White Sox manager Tony La Russa watched the end of his team's loss to the Yankees from his office after being ejected by home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook in the eighth inning. La Russa came out to discuss a called third strike on Eloy Jiménez, which sent the slugger airborne in disagreement, and the skipper was tossed in one of the quietest ejections of his career. It was the 90th ejection overall for La Russa and second this year. The pitch in question was shown to be in the bottom of the strike zone by Statcast.

Aug. 14: Yankees 7, White Sox 5 (10 innings) -- Glad to be back
Luis Robert last played in Chicago on May 2, when he tore his right hip flexor while beating out an infield single during a 5-0 loss to the Indians. But Robert made an impactful return early on Saturday, launching his second home run of the season and his first at Guaranteed Rate Field this year. Robert last homered on April 6 in Seattle. His blast in the second off Yankees starter Jameson Taillon had an exit velocity of 108.5 mph and an expected batting average of 1.000, and it carried 438 feet, per Statcast.

Aug 12: White Sox 9, Yankees 8 -- History of walk-off homers
Tim Anderson's two-run shot off Zack Britton in the ninth inning during the inaugural Field of Dreams contest marked the 15th walk-off homer hit by the White Sox against the Yankees. And who hit that first walk-off dinger? Well, it was Shoeless Joe Jackson on July 20, 1919. It seemed like a fitting connection on this special night of baseball.

Aug. 11: Twins 1, White Sox 0 -- A dominant season series
Even with the loss, the White Sox trounced the Twins in 2021. Chicago outscored Minnesota, 123-71, and those 123 runs are the most any team has scored vs. one opponent this season. The White Sox finished 13-6 against the Twins, one win short of tying their franchise mark for their most over one opponent since the divisional era began in 1969 (last accomplished in 2012 vs. Minnesota).

Aug. 10: Twins 4, White Sox 3 -- Keuchel goes six innings
Despite coming up on the short end against the Twins, Dallas Keuchel offered a source of encouragement by putting in six innings of work. He has now completed six or more innings in consecutive starts for the first time since June, when he went three in a row from June 4-15. Unfortunately for Keuchel and the White Sox, the team is just 2-7 in Keuchel's starts since that June streak.

Aug. 9: White Sox 11, Twins 1 -- Eloy's homer binge
One night after Eloy Jiménez homered twice at Wrigley Field, he did it again at Target Field. He also had five RBIs in both games, becoming the first White Sox player to post two home runs and five RBIs in consecutive games. The pair of long balls also brought Jiménez to 50 for his career in just 187 games, which is the fastest in franchise history.

Aug. 8: White Sox 9, Cubs 3 -- A powerful open
The White Sox didn't take long to get going during their victory over the Cubs, as Tim Anderson homered to right on the first pitch from Zach Davies. Before the first inning was over, the White Sox had scored five runs and gone deep three times with Eloy Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn also clearing the ivy. The three White Sox home runs were their most in the first inning of a game since July 3, 2012, when Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios went deep, and the three home runs in the top of the first were their most in any road first inning in franchise history.

Aug. 7: White Sox 4, Cubs 0 -- Abreu has rival's number
José Abreu hitting a home run is nothing out of the ordinary for a player who has 219 in eight seasons and needs just three more to pass Harold Baines for third all-time in White Sox franchise history. But over the past two years, Abreu has really enjoyed hitting at Wrigley Field. His eighth-inning homer Saturday marked his seventh in the past five games played on the North Side, joining Carlos Beltran (2004) and Mike Schmidt (1975-76) as the only players to hit seven homers in a five-game span at Wrigley since at least 1901.

Aug. 6: White Sox 8, Cubs 6 (10 innings) -- Engel crushing at Wrigley
White Sox center fielder Adam Engel had three hits and two stolen bases of third on Friday, but his output certainly was not surprising, considering the locale. Engel is now 13-for-25 lifetime at Wrigley Field, with seven runs scored, three doubles and three stolen bases.

Aug. 5: Royals 3, White Sox 2 -- Jiménez adjusting well
Eloy Jiménez ended a 0-for-13 skid with a run-scoring double in the eighth inning against the Royals. That double down the right-field line also happened to be Jiménez's first hit as a designated hitter this season. In Jiménez's one game starting in left field on July 27th at Kauffman Stadium, he knocked out two hits including a game-winning three-run homer in the eighth. Jiménez is 3-for-22 with a walk since coming back from a ruptured left pectoral tendon on July 26.

Aug. 4: Royals 9, White Sox 1 -- Abreu keeps logging RBIs
José Abreu has led the American League in RBIs each of the last two years, and he's making a move for a third such crown in 2021. The White Sox first baseman homered Wednesday, raising his RBI total to 81 and putting him four behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who leads the Majors with 85. Abreu has 15 RBIs in his last 11 home games, and his 217th career home run put him four behind Harold Baines for third place on the franchise's all-time list.

Aug. 3: White Sox 7, Royals 1 -- Anderson's powerful display
Tim Anderson's opposite-field home run in the third inning gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish in the series opener. It also was the 10th home run of the season for the shortstop, who has reached double digits in that category in five straight seasons. Anderson has a career total of 84 home runs, tying him with Greg Luzinski for 29th on the franchise's all-time list. The White Sox are 9-1 this season when Anderson homers.

Aug. 1: White Sox 2, Indians 1 -- What a relief
Reynaldo López had made 92 big league appearances coming into the 2021 season, with 87 as a starter. But López seems to have found his niche as part of the bullpen for the American League Central leaders. The right-hander threw three scoreless innings in the series finale against Cleveland, leaving him with a 0.82 ERA (one earned run in 11 innings) to go with 12 strikeouts and a .111 opponents average (4-for-36) over his six relief appearances. López hit 98.2 mph with his fastball vs. Cleveland, per Statcast.