Giolito dazzles, Abreu slugs White Sox past Athletics in opener
OAKLAND, Calif. — Lucas Giolito released a brief yell of delight and marched quickly back to the dugout, his work day going just brilliantly for the Chicago White Sox.
Giolito simply dazzled in his postseason debut, stymieing the Oakland Athletics through six perfect innings and sending the White Sox to a 4-1 victory in the opener of their best-ofthree wild-card series Tuesday
Giolito didn’t allow a baserunner to the AL West champions until Tommy La Stella’s single up the middle to start the seventh. Giolito gave up one run on two hits over seven innings, struck out eight and walked one before giving way to Evan Marshall after a stellar 100-pitch outing.
Giolito got plenty of support: Jose Abreu hit a tworun homer and Adam Engel also connected for Chicago. Yasmani Grandal homered in the eighth.
Alex Colome, Chicago’s third reliever, worked the ninth for a save to close out the 2-hour, 53-minute game. UP NEXT: LHP Keuchel (6-2, 1.99 ERA) pitches Wednesday following a successful first season with Chicago.
RHP Chris Bassitt, drafted by the White Sox before being traded to Oakland in December 2014, takes the ball for the A’s with victories in his last three decisions. Oakland kept six starting pitchers on the roster.
ASTROS 4, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Altuve drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the goahead run in the ninth inning for Houston after a two-out error by shortstop Jorge Polanco, and the Astros beat Minnesota to open their AL playoff series and stretch the Twins’ all-time record postseason losing streak to 17 games.
Manager Dusty Baker’s Astros became the first team in major-league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record.
Game 2 in the best-ofthree wild-card matchup is Wednesday at Target Field.
Michael Brantley tacked on a two-run single in the ninth after Sergio Romo issued a full-count walk to the 5-foot-6 Altuve, the 2017 AL MVP who had a quiet season at the plate.
Framber Valdez, who made 10 regular-season starts for the Astros, pitched five scoreless innings in relief of Zack Greinke for the victory to keep the bullpen fresh for the rest of the series. Valdez allowed his only two hits with one out in the ninth, but Willians Astudillo grounded into a double play to end the game.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called for Romo, the fifth of six pitchers, to start the ninth. The Astros loaded the bases on two singles to start the inning and then the crippling two-out error, when Polanco’s throw to second base after a straightat-him grounder was low to blow the forceout.
Minnesota and Houston tied for the fewest errors in the majors with 20 during the pandemic-shortened 60-game season.
Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. That was also the last scoreless postseason start for a Twins pitcher — seven shutout innings by AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana — until Kenta Maeda’s in this game.
The Twins lost 13 straight times to the Yankees after that, including a three-game sweep in the AL division series last year. The Twins have failed to advance in eight straight rounds, since beating Oakland in five games in the AL division series in 2002.
Minnesota broke the record for consecutive postseason losses in major North American sports — the Twins had been tied with the Chicago Blackhawks, who dropped 16 straight in the NHL playoffs from 1975-79.
The Astros lost their previous postseason game — that was Game 7 of the World Series last year, at home to the Washington Nationals.
UP NEXT: The Astros were waiting until after the game to announce their starter for Game 2, though Baker said RHP Lance McCullers Jr. was not being made available out of the bullpen on Tuesday and under consideration to take the mound on Wednesday on three days of rest.
RHP Jose Berrios will take the mound for the Twins in Game 2.
RAYS 3, BLUE JAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Blake Snell took a nohitter into the sixth inning and the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays opened the playoffs with a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Manuel Margot hit a two-run homer and Randy Arozarena tripled and scored on a wild pitch to give Snell and a dominant Rays bullpen all the offensive support needed to begin the best-of-three wildcard matchup.
The AL East champion Rays will try to advance Wednesday in Game 2 at Tropicana Field.
Snell allowed just two baserunners until Alejandro Kirk singled leading off the sixth. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed one hit and struck out nine — tying a club postseason record — in 52⁄ 3 innings.
UP NEXT
Lefty Hyun Jin Ryu starts for the Blue Jays against right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who’s been Tampa Bay’s best pitcher. Both will be working on an extra day of rest.