Giolito no-hits Pirates, keeps White Sox rolling
Lucas Giolito pitched the first no-hitter of the pandemic-delayed major league season, striking out 13 and permitting just one runner in leading the Chicago White Sox over the Pittsurgh Pirates 4-0 on Tuesday night in Chicago.
Giolito retired the final 18 Pirates he faced as the White Sox won for the eighth time in nine games and snapped Pittsburgh’s seasonhigh three-game winning streak.
With the seats at Guaranteed Rate Field empty, the hollers of his teammates echoed around the ballpark after right fielder Adam Engel caught Erik Gonzalez’s slicing drive toward the line for the final out.
An All-Star last year, the 26-year-old Giolito (3-2) matched his career high for strikeouts set in his previous start against Detroit.
Only a four-pitch walk to Gonzalez leading off the fourth inning got in Giolito’s way of perfection. Pittsburgh came into the game batting just .229 this season.
Giolito pitched the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history and first since Philip Humber threw a perfect game at Seattle in 2012.
MARLINS4,METS0>> Miguel Rojas’ two-run single capped a three-run second inning and four pitchers combined on an eight-hitter to lead Miami to the win in the first game of a doubleheader in New York.
It was the Mets’ first game since a player and a coach tested positive for the coronavirus.
INDIANS’ FRANCONA ALSO DEALING WITH BLOOD CLOTTING ISSUE >> TheClevelandIndiansmay be without manager Terry Francona even longer than expected.
Francona has already missed 15 games with a gastrointestinal issue, and Chris Antonetti, the team’s president of baseball operations, disclosed that the 61-year-old manager has also been dealing with blood clotting problems.
Antonetti said doctors at the Cleveland Clinic inserted a stent last week to help Francona’s blood flow “around what was a clogged filter in his veins.” Antonetti said there is no timetable on when he’ll back.
CLEVINGER BACK WITH INDIANS AFTER DEMOTION >> Cleveland Indians starter Mike Clevinger will pitch today for the first time since breaking team rules and Major League Baseball COVID-19 protocols and being demoted for 10 days.
Clevinger will return and pitch the series finale against the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. The right-hander last pitched on Aug. 5 at Cincinnati. Three days later, he and Zach Plesac violated the team’s code of conduct by going out to dinner and risking exposure to the coronavirus.
The actions of the free-spirited Clevinger drew the wrath of teammates, who expressed their unhappiness with him and Plesac during at a team meeting in Detroit. Afterward, the team optioned Clevinger and Plesac to the club’s alternate training site in Eastlake, Ohio.