Looking to extend second-half surge, Giolito stumbles against Royals
Lucas Giolito had a rough first half of the season (7-6, 4.15 ERA) by his standards, and he came out of the all-star break determined to be better.
"I wanted to come back more focused, a lot more focus on each individual pitch, staying in my rhythm and mentality," Giolito said.
Good focus typically means good execution for Giolito, and he had both going in his first three starts of the second half while allowing just 3 runs over 21 innings to go with 18 strikeouts.
In Wednesday night's 9-1 loss to the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field, Giolito and the White Sox were way off their games.
"I felt fine, but I made way too many mistakes and they didn't miss them," Giolito said. "They just raked."
Giolito lasted just 4 innings and he gave up 6 runs on 8 hits, including solo home runs to Edward Olivares and Michael Taylor and a 2-run shot to Salvador Perez.
"I was pulling off pretty bad," the right-hander said. "With the slider especially, I was in between and couldn't get the good one going. It was either hanging or a ball in the dirt. Move on. It (stinks) because I'm the reason we lost tonight. It's a brutal feeling but just use that as motivation for the next one."
Jose Abreu supplied the White Sox's lone run with a solo homer in the fourth.
"It's just a tough night," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "You heard me say before you try to explain something and it sounds like an excuse. You just take your lumps. Same thing on our offense. What did we get 4 hits? We got beat."
Looking ahead:
The 2022 schedule was released on Wednesday and the White Sox are set to open the season on March 31 against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox and Cubs play a pair of two-game series - May 3-4 at Wrigley Field and May 28-29 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The White Sox play the National League West during interleague competition. They'll host the Dodgers June 7-9.
Burger banged up:
Jake Burger, who batted .263 with 1 home run and 3 RBI in 15 games with the White Sox this season, was placed on Class AAA Charlotte's injured list with a bone bruise on his right hand.
Burger, who didn't play the last three seasons due to injuries and COVID-19, is hitting .319 with 11 homers and 38 RBI in 46 games with Charlotte. He joined the Sox on July 2 and was optioned back to Triple-A on July 26.