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With fewer than 30 games left in the 2022 regular season, the Chicago White Sox sit just on the outside of the playoff picture. Gaining a spot in the postseason as a wild card is no longer an option. With barely over three weeks left in the season Tony LaRussa’s club sits more than seven games behind the teams holding those three spots. Their only path is to win the National League Central. Currently, the Cleveland Guardians lead the White Sox and Minnesota Twins by two games.
To overcome even that deficit, Jose Abreu and the White Sox need to pile up the wins against the bad teams on their schedule. Such an opportunity exists this weekend when they travel to Northern California to face off against the Oakland Athletics. With the 2nd worst record in baseball and with a real shot at finishing dead last, Oakland certainly qualifies as a must win for the Sox if they are to continue to push for the playoffs.
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To help you out, lets focus on the White Sox and their offense as we review a couple of questions in the contest.
Question #1: How many home runs will Chicago hit at Oakland on Saturday?
Potential Answers: 0, 1, 2, 3+
Pending what stats you cherish the Chicago White Sox are at least a competent team if not one of the stronger teams with a bat in their hand. The White Sox are among the best teams in baseball at making contact and putting runners on base. They just are not efficient at getting those baserunners all the way around the bases.
In the last 30 days, the Sox have 250 hits. That is 4th best in major league baseball. Their batting average is .271 over the last month which is also 4th best. They have scored only 110 runs in the last 30 days which is just 14th in baseball. Again, they put the bat on the ball but do not cash in often enough.
Specific to this question, Chicago has 24 home runs in the last month (27 games) which is pretty similar to their season long average. The Oakland Coliseum yields the third fewest home runs in baseball. A’s pitchers allow just north of one round-tripper per home game. Adrian Martinez (4-3, 4.37 ERA) is the expected starter for Oakland. He has served up six bombs in seven starts.
Suggested Answer: Expect the White Sox to get on base plenty on Saturday afternoon but they will not leave the yard more than once despite the recent power surge from players like Elvis Andrus and Eloy Jimenez.
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Question #3: How many singles and doubles will Chicago have vs. Oakland Saturday?
Singles: 0-3, 4, 5, 6, 7-8, 9+
Doubles: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4+
Jose Abreu has 160 hits through his first 135 games this season. Andrew Vaughn is right behind him with 123 hits in just 112 games. As noted earlier, they lead an attack that is one of the best in baseball. They average as a team over nine hits per game.
Of those 250 hits in the last 30 days (27 games), Chicago has 194 singles. That translates into a little more than seven singles per game. The Sox average 1½ doubles per game over that same time span. No reason to argue with the math as the stats have been amazingly consistent all season long.
The Chicago White Sox continue to tease us with an expectation they will suddenly (or should we say, finally) step up and be a true contender. However, at this point they are who they are and not who we think they should be. Expect the White Sox to hit but not exceed their numbers.
Suggested Answer: Expect Abreu and co. to tally 7-8 singles Saturday and 2 doubles at Oakland Coliseum.
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