Giolito battles without best stuff in loss vs. Mets
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NEW YORK -- White Sox manager Pedro Grifol has a nickname for Lucas Giolito: “Mr. Consistency.”
It’s an apt moniker for the 29-year-old right-hander, who finished the first half of the season having allowed four runs or fewer in all but one of his 19 starts.
But on Tuesday night at Citi Field, Giolito endured a second uncharacteristic outing.
In the White Sox 11-10 series-opening loss to the Mets, Giolito labored through 3 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs on six hits (including three homers) and five walks. His ERA ballooned from 3.45 to 3.96, and his record fell to 6-6.
“Gio was a little off today,” Grifol said. “It just seemed like every pitch that was left out over the plate was hit hard.”
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It was the most runs Giolito has allowed all season, eclipsing the seven-run bashing he took on April 7 against the Pirates. It was also the most homers he has let up, as rookies Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty launched back-to-back dingers in a five-run opening frame and DJ Stewart went yard for the first time this year in the fourth.
In that first inning alone, New York sent every batter to the plate except the No. 9 hitter in Stewart, with Giolito not recording an out until cleanup man Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly to left-center field. Before that, Giolito's outing had started: Walk, RBI double, wild pitch, walk.
“I clearly didn’t have it tonight, and it hurts because the whole team came in to play,” Giolito said. “I mean, we battled all the way back. … I just didn’t have feel and I didn’t make adjustments. I got exposed.”
Giolito’s five walks in the 100-pitch (61 strikes) start were the second most he has conceded this season, behind only a seven-walk display against the Tigers on May 25. That outing is also tied with Tuesday for his shortest of the year.
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As Giolito admitted postgame, it was pretty clear that his pitches weren’t working the way he’s used to.
“No slider. Bad fastball command. Changeup was my best pitch. But when you have to rely on one pitch, you’ll get exposed,” he said. “For me, it’s a [tough] one, but I’ll get back on my routine tomorrow.”
Though the Mets’ bats stayed hot after Giolito’s exit, the White Sox kept it close with a five-run inning of their own in the seventh. They batted around to force Mets manager Buck Showalter to send three relievers to the mound, doing most of their damage against Trevor Gott.
Jake Burger launched a two-run double off the center-field wall that landed inches short of a grand slam, and Yasmani Grandal followed that up with a two-run single to right. A passed ball by Alvarez then allowed Grandal to scamper home, and the White Sox looked like they might pull off an unexpected rally.
But Brooks Raley struck out Seby Zavala on four pitches, then coaxed an inning-ending flyout off the bat of Andrew Benintendi.
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Two frames later, Benintendi put the White Sox on the doorstep of another comeback, grounding an RBI single to center field to narrow the deficit to a single run. But down to the game’s final out, David Robertson got Tim Anderson to fly out softly to center field, as Chicago’s early hole proved to be too deep to escape.
“[Giolito] has been lights out for us, and he’s picked us up the entire season, so obviously we wish we could have gotten over the ledge there,” Burger said. “We had a game-tying run on base in the last three innings, so obviously we wish we could have gotten them in and could have picked him up like he’s done all season for us.”
The White Sox ultimately outhit the Mets by two (12-10) in the slugfest, but the final blow didn’t materialize.
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For Giolito, who has been the subject of speculation ahead of the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline, it could be one of his final outings in a White Sox uniform, which he has donned since 2017. He entered Tuesday leading American League starters in opponents’ batting average (.182) since June 1. He was second in ERA (2.45) and tied for third in WHIP (0.95) over the period.
“He probably knew that it wasn’t his best day, he probably felt that out there, but he kept battling just like he does,” Grifol said. “All our guys, all our starters, for the most part, they understand what’s at stake. And not just winning the game, they understand how important innings are to this club. So, to his credit, he just kept pitching. That’s what winners do. And that’s who he is.”