Down the drain: Pirates batter Giolito and the White Sox in 13-9 loss
Flush it.
That's the common reaction to a lopsided loss, in any sport.
At the rate the White Sox are going, the pipes are going to break before the season settles in.
On Monday, it was a 12-3 loss to the Giants in the home opener. On Thursday, San Francisco rolled over the Sox 16-6.
Playing Friday at Pittsburgh in the Pirates' home opener, another poor pitching performance stuck the White Sox with a 13-9 loss.
Staked to a 5-2 advantage in the third inning powered by 2-run homers from Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger, Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito wasn't able to lock it down.
"We were given leads and I kept giving them up," Giolito told reporters. "They were just hitting the ball pretty well, soft contact, finding some holes, then breaking it open with home runs, big hits, doubles, things like that."
Giolito lasted just 4 innings and gave up 7 runs on 12 hits - 2 of them home runs.
"Probably take a look at how I'm sequencing pitches, basic command of the pitches," Giolito said of what he has to do.
Besides Dylan Cease, it's been a miserable week for White Sox starters.
Lance Lynn allowed 8 runs on 9 hits (3 home runs) in 4⅓ innings Thursday, and Michael Kopech was tagged for 7 runs on 8 hits (5 homers) over 4⅔ innings Monday.
"I don't have concern with the pitching, I really don't," manager Pedro Grifol said. "These guys have done it before, they've done it for a while now. It's just one of those stretches. Obviously there are adjustments to be made, they're working on it."
Giolito's poor outing spoiled a big offensive effort from Robert, who was 3-for-5 with a pair of 2-run homers and 5 RBI.
Tim Anderson was 4-for-5 with 4 runs scored and 2 stolen bases, Burger went 2-for-4, and rookie right fielder Oscar Colas hit his first major league home run, a solo shot in the ninth inning.
"It was not good," Giolito said. "We hit their starter (43-year-old lefty Rich Hill) really well. We've got to do a better job. We are not going deep enough into games, especially me today. But the good side is it's pretty early in the season. We've just got to make adjustments."
Before the game, the Sox designated Jose Ruiz for assignment after the reliever allowed 9 runs in 3⅔ innings to open the season.
Jesse Scholtens came up from Class AAA Charlotte after having his contract selected, and he made his major league debut against the Pirates, allowing 1 run in 3 innings of relief.
Also on Friday, the White Sox signed reliever Alex Colome to a minor league contract and assigned him to Charlotte.
Colome was the Sox's closer in 2019-20 and had a combined 42 saves. Last year, he was 2-7 with a 5.74 ERA and 4 saves for the Rockies.