'Look at that record': Giolito streaking in The Show

After 11 days of the MLB The Show Players League, it has become clear that Joey Gallo (Rangers), Blake Snell (Rays), Dwight Smith Jr. (Orioles) and Gavin Lux (Dodgers) are some of the favorites to win the first-ever league.

But with just over a week left in the regular season, there’s still time for other players to jump into the eight playoff spots and challenge the aforementioned group.

Enter Lucas Giolito.

• Players League standings, schedule, video

It’s been quite a few days for the White Sox hurler. On Monday, Giolito went 2-1, including a walk-off win against Gallo, who has absolutely dominated most of the competition. On Tuesday, Giolito was recognized at the park by a young fan as the pitcher threw a 40-pitch bullpen session.

Maybe that interaction was all the good luck Giolito needed, as the right-hander went 3-0 on Tuesday with wins over Rhys Hoskins (Phillies), Lux and Smith. With the big night, Giolito is now on a five-game winning streak and is fifth in the standings with a 12-5 record.

“We’re on the front-page standings,” Giolito said, acknowledging the fact that he’s in the top eight. “We made it.”

Perhaps more impressive is whom Giolito has beaten to get into the playoff picture. Beating Gallo is a feat on its own, but the White Sox pitcher also has good wins over Bo Bichette (Blue Jays), Jon Duplantier (D-backs), Brett Phillips (Royals) and the three players he took down on Tuesday.

Giolito is already looking forward to his matchups against Snell and Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres).

“Look at that 12-5 record,” Giolito said at the end of the night. “Tatis, who hits with directional hitting. Directional hitting Tatis, we just went a spot over him. Look at that.”

Oh, that matchup is going to be fun.

It’s gonna be May
Trevor May is the league commissioner and with his 4-1 night, he has put the Twins in a great position to make the postseason. But you can make an argument that May’s biggest contribution has been the hilarious moments where he rages at the game, just like the rest of us.

On Tuesday, May took a 3-0 lead into the third inning against A’s pitcher Jesús Luzardo. May was feeling good about starting the night off with a win. Until he wasn’t.

May failed to turn a game-ending double play and then proceeded to hit Matt Olson to load up the bases and put the tying run in scoring position. Luzardo leaned on Khris Davis to come up with a clutch hit and he got just that, launching a walk-off grand slam to beat May.

Then hilarity ensued.

“Just hand him the game! Just hand him the game, over and over again! [Good game] everybody,” May screamed as he put his controller up in the air in disbelief. “Oh my God, it just does it on purpose, man. There’s just no way. Good-good, ball. Good-good, ball. Good-good, right down the middle. It’s a joke, man.”

Did it hit … his face?

Smith had a forgettable day on Tuesday, going 1-2 on the night. But nobody had it worse than virtual Austin Hays.

In Smith’s game against Giolito, Hays went back on a deep fly ball and it looked like he had a chance to rob a home run, which is something he proved he can do during his time in the Majors. However, as virtual Hays went up to steal a home run, the ball ended up hitting him right in the face, forcing him to exit the game with an injury.

Poor virtual Austin.

“Huh?” said Smith, in a high-pitched voice as he saw that Hays was injured. “Stop. No way. No way. We’re doing injuries now? Stop this right now. No way, dawg.”

“He jumped the fence and it hit him in the face and it went back in play,” Giolito said. “I’ve never seen that in my life.”

Wednesday’s games to watch
Jeff McNeil (Mets) has been one of the surprises of the league and he has a chance to build on his 11-3 record on Wednesday. The Mets infielder has key games against Hoskins, Josh Hader (Brewers), Ty Buttrey (Angels) and Carlos Santana (Indians).

Smith and Tatis also return to action on Wednesday as they look to solidify their place in the playoff picture.

Where to watch
Over the next few weeks, the league will be livestreamed on MLB social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch), MLB Network's Twitch site, "MLB The Show" social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch), the clubs’ social media accounts and MLB.com. Each player will also stream it from their individual Twitch or YouTube accounts.

Aside from those streams, in order to provide a full gameday experience, MLB Network will provide a livestream in which it will select the best one-on-one matchups and look into other game results and friendly banter.