Gamethread: White Sox at Pirates
Lucas Giolito faces Pittsburgh for the first time since his no-hitter
The White Sox (43-29) are coming off their worst series of the season, as they lost all four to the Astros. This is the first four-game losing streak for the South Siders this season. Fortunately, they are no longer in Houston. Instead, the White Sox are in Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates (25-45), who are having another underwhelming season.
Starting for the White Sox will be Lucas Giolito, who has happy memories against the Pirates. In Giolito’s most recent start against Pittsburgh, he pitched a no-hitter in which he got 30 whiffs, and he had 13 strikeouts as a result. On top of it, Giolito only needed to throw 101 pitches, and the control was strong, as he issued only one walk.
In 2021, Giolito has a 3.86 ERA, a 3.32 xERA, and a 4.22 FIP in 81 2⁄3 innings. According to FanGraphs, Giolito has accumulated 1.3 WAR this season, and he is trending in the right direction. In his last six starts, Giolito has a 2.70 ERA, and opponents have a slash line of .190/.242/.415 against him in those games.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson, 31, will start for the Pirates. In 73 2⁄3 innings, Anderson has a 4.89 ERA, a 4.55 xERA, and a 4.51 FIP, rendering him a 0.6-WAR pitcher, per FanGraphs. This will be Anderson’s first career start against the White Sox. Anderson is more of a finesse pitcher than a power pitcher, as his average fastball clocks in at only 90 mph (fourth percentile in MLB). However, his fastball spin rate is in the 84th percentile, which makes that pitch more effective than it otherwise would be. Anderson’s most frequent pitches are his four-seamer (he throws this 36% of the time), cutter (28%), and changeup (25%).
Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
Lucas Giolito is making his first start against Pittsburgh since throwing a no-hitter on 8/25/20. He is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA (12 ER/40.0 IP) and 53 strikeouts over his last six starts.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 22, 2021
⏰: 6:05 p.m. CT
: @NBCSChicago
: @ESPN1000 pic.twitter.com/mFhV1ujs4v
New series on deck.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/xtf1JhXqjP
— Pirates (@Pirates) June 22, 2021
You may have noticed that even though the opposing pitcher is left-handed, Adam Engel is not in the lineup. There is an unfortunate reason for that.
Prior to tonight’s series opener at Pittsburgh, the Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Adam Engel on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 20) with a strained right hamstring and recalled outfielder Luis González from Class AAA Charlotte.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 22, 2021
Once again, the injury bug bites the White Sox. Yikes. Get well soon, Adam.
Meanwhile, best of luck to Luis González, who has two career MLB plate appearances, both in 2020 (a hit by pitch and a strikeout).
The game will start at 6:05 p.m. CST, and NBC Sports Chicago will televise it. As usual, WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage. It is time to break the losing streak, so let’s get it done.