Giolito throws 3-hit shutout
Lucas Giolito struck out 12 on Wednesday for
MINNEAPOLIS — Lucas Giolito pitched a threehit shutout of the secondhighest scoring team in the major leagues, racking up 12 strikeouts for the White Sox in a 4-0 victory over the Twins on Wednesday to take the series from the AL Central leaders.
Giolito (14-6) allowed only runner past first base, a double by Jonathan Schoop in the eighth. The 25-year-old fanned Jake Cave to finish that inning and reach double-digit strikeouts for the third straight time, the first White Sox starter to do so since Chris Sale did so in eight consecutive turns in 2015. The last right-hander with a streak that long for the team was Edwin Jackson, with three in a row in 2010.
Jose Abreu went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the White Sox from his usual third spot in the lineup, with Leury Garcia and Tim Anderson each producing two hits from their places in front of him. The first three batters scored all four runs against Twins starter Jake Odorizzi (13-6), who was outdone by his fellow AL All-Star.
Giolito matched the Indians’ Shane Bieber for the major league lead with his third complete game of the season. The White Sox and Indians have a baseballbest five apiece. Giolito got his with 115 pitches, without a walk.
The Twins were blanked for the third time this year, all at home and also April 30 by the Astros and June 17 by the Red Sox.
The Twins fell to 8-5 against the White Sox this season.
They have lost seven consecutive weekday games with afternoon start times.
Rays: Kevin Kiermaier drove in four runs, including a solo HR during a two-run ninth, and the Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Mariners 7-6 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Kiermaier tied it at 6-6 on a leadoff HR against Matt Magill. The Rays then loaded the bases on Willy Adames’ single, a double by Mike Brosseau and an intentional walk to pinchhitter Ji-Man Choi with no outs before Magill’s wild pitch with Tommy Pham batting allowed Adames to score the winning run. The Rays went 3-3 during a six-game homestand against the last-place Mariners and Tigers.
Rockies: Tim Melville pitched seven innings of two-hit ball in his first major league appearance in almost two years, and the Rockies cruised to a 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Melville, a 29year-old right-hander with just six previous big-league appearances who started this season in independent ball, limited the D’backs to a first-inning double and a sixth-inning HR to go with four strikeouts and two walks. He also picked up his first major-league hit — a two-out, fourth-inning single — and his first two career RBIs. Melville was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque earlier in the day to start in place of Jon Gray, whom the Rockies before the game placed on the 60-day IL with a left foot fracture. Ketel Marte and Alex Avila homered for the D’backs, who saw their four-game win streak end.
Braves: Seven-time AllStar C Brian McCann was placed on the 10-day IL with a left knee sprain. McCann left Tuesday night’s 5-1 win over the Marlins after the third inning due to soreness in the knee. Tests on Wednesday revealed the sprain.
Dodgers: Three-time Cy Young winner and former NL MVP Clayton Kershaw passed Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax for most career wins by a Dodgers left-hander with the team’s 16-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Kershaw (13-2) earned his 166th career victory, breaking a tie with Koufax for fifth on the club’s wins list. He allowed three runs and six hits — including two HRs by rookie sensation Bo Bichette — in six innings, struck out six and walked three. Will Smith hit a go-ahead, tworun HR in the third, and Cody Bellinger notched his 100th RBI of the season with a three-run double in the fourth.
Extra innings: ESPN reported that MLB in a memo sent out Monday warned about the “very real risk” of over-the-counter sexual-enhancement pills after at least two players this year were suspended for performance-enhancing drugs and said the banned substances found in their urine came from the unregulated products. ... The Angeles placed rookie starter Griffin Canning on the 10-day IL with inflammation in his right elbow, the second time this month the injury has sidelined the 23-year-old righthander. Manager Brad Ausmus said it was still too early to determine if Canning will be shut down for the rest of the season. Canning is 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance.