Lucas Giolito throws 19th no-hitter in White Sox history
Lucas Giolito threw the 19th no-hitter in Chicago White Sox history.
He did it! Lucas Giolito earned the 19th no-hitter in the history of the Chicago White Sox. He was so brilliant all night long and it earned the White Sox their 18th win of the season. The last time that a Chicago White Sox pitcher threw a no-no, Phillip Humber threw a perfect game eight years ago in 2012. It had been a long time but it was well worth the wait. It is always special when a pitcher does this but it feels extra special for Giolito.
Why does it feel extra special? Because of the place that Giolito had to come from to get here. He was statistically the worst pitcher in Major League Baseball in 2018. It was a brutal year and we all had to question if he would ever even come close to reaching his potential. Well, in 2019 he was one of the best pitchers in the world. He was so good that he came in 6th place for the American League Cy Young Award.
Now, in 2020 he was the best pitcher in the world for a night. In the offseason between the 2018 and 2019 season, he changed his style and approach and it has worked wonders for him. Now, two years later, he has an All-Star Game appearance and a no-hitter. Next, a World Series title should be the goal. This team is special and Giolito is leading the way.
His only blemish keeping it from being a perfect game was a 4th inning leadoff walk to Erik Gonzalez. He got everybody else out and made it look relatively easy. For a guy that was once criticized for not handling big moments, he sure looked good in the biggest moment of his career.
In nine innings, he gave up no hits and the one walk. He had 13 strikeouts on 101 pitches. He had six groundouts and three flyouts. It was incredible work to get the job done. The defense, which is often seen as an issue, was magnificent. There was one play where Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu made an elite play to end an inning. It was great to see this team get over the hump to help out their ace pitcher.
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One last person who deserves a ton of credit is James McCann. He called a great game for Giolito. They trust each other to the fullest. According to Giolito after the game, he only called off McCann one time which shows to their chemistry and trust in one another. Everyone involved deserves all of the credit in the world. Congrats to Lucas Giolito, he deserves it.