The Chicago White Sox would’ve played in the afternoon on Thursday for ALDS Game 4 if the New York Yankees had won on Wednesday night.
But the Tampa Bay Rays completed their sweep of the Yanks, and so there’s no games left in that series. That led to a start time change to the only remaining Division Series matchup as Chicago welcomes the Cleveland Guardians to Rate Field for Game 4.
The Guardians won Game 3 in convincing fashion to extend the series, but the teams weren’t sure until late Wednesday exactly what time they’d be playing on Thursday.
Turns out, it’s a big bit of news for Chicago.
What Time is White Sox-Guardians Game?
The White Sox-Guardians game on Thursday will have a first pitch of 7 p.m. Central time, which is the local time in Chicago where the game is being played.
For those watching back in Cleveland, it’s an 8 p.m. first pitch on your television sets.
Most importantly for the stat we’re about to look at, it’s now a night game.
White Sox in Night Games
Almost entirely across the board, the White Sox hitters performed better in night games this season compared to day games.
The stats, via @ChiSoxFanMike, are pretty astonishing.
Munetaka Murakami had the starkest difference. He had a .942 OPS at night compared to .639 during day games.
Miguel Vargas had an .896 night game OPS and just .743 in day games.
For Sam Antonacci, it was an .827 OPS for night games compared to .665 for day games.
Tristan Peters was 100 points better, at .810 OPS in night games and .710 OPS in day games.
For Andrew Benintendi, it was a .769 OPS for games that started at night compared to .639 for day games.
And even Chase Meidroth had a small bump, up at .779 OPS for night games compared to .743 OPS for day games.
Whatever you think of those numbers, they probably aren’t flukes.
Hitters see the ball differently during the day versus the night, and while that doesn’t always benefit everyone the same, it does matter.
There’s also a matter of routine, and games are more often at night than during the day throughout the season — so players develop habits that are best suited for those evening starts rather than afternoon starts — particularly, a day game after a night game can be rough.
These stats also don’t necessarily mean things will all work out for the White Sox on Thursday. A one-game sample is a lot different than an entire season.
The numbers do seem to point in Chicago’s favor, at least when you look at them like this. The White Sox faithful sure would love to see them clinch the ALDS at home.
White Sox Start Time Change is Major News for Chicago Hitters