Giolito shows off grit, 'mix' in final start of half

BALTIMORE -- Lucas Giolito tossed just 5 1/3 innings on Saturday afternoon before turning the game over to the bullpen. The White Sox starting pitcher held the Orioles to just one run, but after back-to-back wild pitches moved a runner to third base, the righty was pulled.

The ‘pen held on for the win, 8-3, securing a series win for Chicago at Camden Yards heading into the final game before the All-Star break.

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“I was happy with how my pitches were working through the bulk of the game,” said Giolito. “[In] the first 90 pitches I had given up some hits, but I was very pleased with our sequencing and the quality of pitches I was throwing. I just kind of lost feel there in the sixth inning, but the bullpen came in and did their job and picked up the rest.”

Giolito earned his seventh win of the season on Saturday, throwing 106 pitches during his outing. All four of the starter's pitches were working, but he relied mainly on his four-seam fastball (44 percent) and changeup (32 percent), recording 16 swings and misses.

“I thought it was one of the most impressive starts,” said manager Tony La Russa. “[His] fastball had a lot of life and moved around. He really had a very effective slider that he threw a lot, threw some curveballs too. I thought his mix was really good. Yeah, [he] made a couple of mistakes that got to him. But overall, I thought, as far as just using all his pitches, I thought it was one of the most impressive starts.”

Ahead of Saturday’s contest, Giolito averaged 10.58 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranked eighth among American League pitchers. The righty continued the strikeout trend vs. Baltimore, fanning nine batters over his 5 1/3 frames. After his last start, where Giolito allowed a season-high 10 hits and six earned runs, this outing against the Orioles was a much-needed reset heading into the All-Star break.

The White Sox Opening Day starter isn’t having an All-Star season, pitching to a 4.15 ERA at the break. When pitching in the same rotation as Carlos Rodón and Lance Lynn, both of whom are All-Stars this season, it’s easy to think that the righty just doesn’t have the same stuff he did in 2019, when he was selected for his first All-Star Game.

“I'm kind of grinding through it,” said Giolito when asked how he feels about his performance through the first half of the season. “Not ideal, not pitching as dominantly as I would like, knowing my ability, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.”

Giolito is confident he has the ability to return to his All-Star form. Barring a few outlier starts, he’s generally given his team a chance to win, recording quality starts in six of his last nine outings.

“The comment I get the most often is that every day we play a game, the starting pitcher has given us a chance to win,” said La Russa on his starting rotation. “The depth has been outstanding. You start games and your starter gives you a chance, that just really peps your club up, and it gives you a feeling that good things can happen.”

Following some recent comments from the Twins’ third baseman, Josh Donaldson, Giolito was put in a sticky situation -- pun intended. Yes, the White Sox pitcher’s spin rates are down since MLB began cracking down on the use of foreign substances, but he’s continued to defend his ability. In back-to-back starts, he’s recorded a considerable amount of swinging strikes -- 22 in his start against Detroit on July 4 and 14 at Baltimore on Saturday.

Giolito felt like his final start before the break was a great step in the right direction, giving him an idea of what he would like to improve upon in the second half of play.

“Just keeping my foot on the gas pedal,” said Giolito. “Today, I came out wanting to bring a little bit of a higher energy level, working a little faster, having more rhythm. I felt like I did that very well through the first five [innings]. But, I think that the next step is making sure that I'm in that kind of head space and I'm working in that kind of way through an entire outing. Especially pitches 90 to 110.”