White Sox ace Giolito throws first no-hitter of 2020
Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito tossed the first no-hitter of the pandemic-disrupted baseball season on Tuesday, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in Chicago.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, centre, celebrates MLB’s first no-hitter of the season with his teammates after a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Chicago. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/DAVID BANKS
The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher struck out 13 batters and walked just one, getting the final out in the ninth when Pirates batter Erik Gonzalez hit a line drive to right field that was caught by Adam Engel.
“The defence was unbelievable,” Giolito said. “Obviously, you can’t do something like that without the whole team behind you.
“I shook off (catcher) James (McCann) once tonight. He deserves this just as much as I do. It’s just a really, really cool moment.”
Pittsburgh’s only baserunner came when Gonzalez walked in the fourth inning.
It is the first no-hitter for the White Sox since Philip Humber threw a perfect game in a 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners in 2012.
The ninth inning began with Giolito striking out Pirates Jarrod Dyson and then getting Jose Osuna to foul out. Gonzalez was looking at an 0-2 pitch when he lined out to seal the no-hitter.
Last year, Giolito had two shutouts and a pair of complete games.
But this season he hadn’t lasted more than seven innings in his half dozen previous starts. His best game so far was a 13-strikeout performance over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Chicago scored three runs in the second, getting RBIs from Engel, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez.
A sacrifice from James McCoy tacked on the final run in the third.
