White Sox pitching prospect has best start thus far on South Side, records first MLB victory of his career.
Lucas Giolito‘s first start with the Chicago White Sox was okay, but the young right-hander gave up three home runs to the Minnesota Twins on August 22. However, on Sunday, Giolito had his best start thus far in a Sox uniform.
The Sox sixth ranked prospect pitched seven solid innings against the Detroit Tigers and earned his first MLB victory. The Sox defeated the Tigers 7-1 thanks in large part to Giolito’s performance on the mound.
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Giolito pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing just three walks and recording four strikeouts. The 23-year-old pitcher nearly gave up a grand slam to Jose Iglesias in the seventh inning, but a replay revealed the ball went in front of the left field foul pole. Giolito would eventually retire Iglesias to end the bases loaded threat.
With his start on Sunday, Giolito showed Sox fans what they can expect in the future as he looks to become a fixture in the South Siders starting rotation. Giolito lowered his ERA to 2.77 with his strong outing, and helped the Sox win its second consecutive series.
Giolito got of to a slow start this season as he began 2017 with Triple-A Charlotte. Although he did pitch a seven inning no-hitter on May 25 with the Knights, he had a hard time recording consecutive quality starts. It wasn’t until July 30 that Giolito had posted a second consecutive quality start.
With his improvement over his last five starts with Charlotte, Giolito quickly become a candidate to be promoted to the Sox. He got his chance as he was slated to start for the Sox as they needed a starter for a doubleheader on Aug. 21. However, his start would be moved back a day as Reynaldo Lopez was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 19.
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As Giolito has more opportunities to impress before this season ends, he will need to remain consistent on the mound. He did a good job avoiding giving up home runs on Sunday, and he only gave up three hits to the Tigers. If Giolito can have similar outings to finish his 2017 campaign, he should be in consideration for the number two or three spot in the Sox rotation in 2018.