Lack of Clutch Hitting Continues, Floyd Battered in Loss to Nationals
Bryce Harper’s moonshot in the 4th inning got the Nats on the board.
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
It was about as lackluster of a game as they come, maybe aside from an absolute blast of a home run off the bat of Bryce Harper. The White Sox offense was stagnant and Gavin Floyd gradually let the game get out of reach. The Nationals beat the White Sox 5-2, behind a stellar outing from starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman to remain unbeaten at home.
The Sox scored their two runs on RBI groundouts. It was that kind of game. The Nationals scored their five runs on five separate scoring plays, highlighted by a massive home run by Harper that nearly reached the third deck in right field.
Once again, the White Sox offense struggled in the clutch, going 0-5 with runners in scoring position (RISP), which brings their season average with RISP to a putrid .36 (6 of 44). Also not surprisingly, the Sox did not draw a single walk. The Sox now find themselves 28th in all of baseball and last in the American League in on base percentage. Also not surprisingly (I’m looking at you Jeff Manto), the Sox are dead last in MLB, drawing only 13 walks on the season thus far, seven behind the American League team (Toronto) with the next lowest total.
Fans have been complaining that the Sox have been too reliant on the home run for producing runs so far this season. Well, when a team fails to value on base percentage, the home run dependence will be the only thing preventing the Sox from being among MLB’s worst offenses.
Gavin Floyd is what Gavin Floyd will always be—completely unpredictable. On a good, playoff-caliber team, he’s a number five starter—simply on the squad to eat up innings, while maintaining close to a .500 record. On a mediocre team, he is your middle of the rotation guy.
It’s a tiresome effort to try to analyze Gavin Floyd and his performances. He’s been known to go on tremendous hot streaks and cold streaks alike. So here’s the analysis on Floyd in one sentence: “No matter how Gavin Floyd performs in a game, it shouldn’t be surprising.”
And tonight was no different. Unfortunately, at this point in the season, the unpredictable Floyd is the White Sox’s middle-of-the-rotation guy.