Lucas Giolito threw a decent ball game in his first outing of the 2023 season
Game three of the year resulted in a 6-4 loss for the Chicago White Sox in yet again another competitive baseball game. The White Sox's bullpen faltered in the late innings again Saturday afternoon as they fell to an overall 1-2 record.
While the bullpen has yet to find its groove early on in the year, the starting rotation has given them an opportunity to win all three games at Minute Maid Park.
Dylan Cease was remarkable, Lance Lynn did enough, and Lucas Giolito battled his tail off with five competitive innings against arguably the best offensive lineup in baseball.
Lucas Giolito ha a good start to his 2023 Chicago White Sox season.
Giolito gives up two earned runs on five hits and a walk.
— Southside Showdown (@SoxShowdown) April 1, 2023
Six K’s including Jose Abreu three times.
Pretty good outing for him.
If it weren't for an abundance of lazy hits for the Astros in the first inning, Giolito would have had an ace-like start but it was still a high-quality outing for the right-hander.
The club would have liked it if Giolito got through six innings pitched but he still managed to control a dangerous Houston lineup at their home ballpark.
Giolito pitched threw the heart of the order three times efficiently, which doesn't occur often at Minute Maid Park, especially for the White Sox's pitching staff over recent years.
Giolito also fanned former teammate Jose Abreu three times. It's safe to say Giolito knows how to pitch to the slugger. It also helps that the two were teammates for an extended period. Giolito versus Abreu resulted in the pitcher with the advantage this time.
Lucas Giolito had Jose Abreu's number on Saturday 💪https://t.co/oleuJTajN5
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) April 1, 2023
Giolito was rather upset about his performance on Saturday but he was optimistic about how the team as a whole has been playing.
The 2023 club has shown fight throughout all three games of the series thus far and it feels like they are offering a new attitude/approach this year that they didn't have in 2022.
Giolito: "I like how we’re playing right now. It’s very early, obviously. Going up against a good opponent. Everybody is in the game, we’re playing hard, I like seeing guys hustle big-time on defense, we’re running balls out. If we do that we’ll put ourselves in a good position"
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 1, 2023
Giolito likes what he's seeing so far from his ball club, and rightfully so. The team is preparing to go out and win at all costs, which wasn't present for most of the 2022 season.
There has been a sense of urgency for the White Sox in Houston and while they haven't seen it pan out thus far, it wouldn't be shocking if it starts to.
The White Sox have one more game in Houston before returning for the home opener with the San Francisco Giants. Mike Clevinger will face off with Luis Garcia as the White Sox will attempt to split the series against the reigning world champions.
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