If you were wondering why Lucas Giolito was pulled after just 61 pitches on Friday, it was injury-related.
The White Sox announced during the season opener that Giolito left his start prematurely with abdominal tightness. After further evaluation, manager Tony La Russa told the media on Saturday that the team’s ace will “definitely” be heading to the injured list and will miss at least two starts.
Giolito had completed four innings in the Motor City before being pulled. He gave up just one hit across those innings, surrendering no runs with two walks and six strikeouts. Though he struggled with his command early, the 27-year-old had started to settle into a groove before being pulled.
The right-hander joined his skipper in speaking with the media and seemed more unsure of the injury’s impact on him with regard to future starts.
Though this move appears to be made out of abundant caution, the team has officially begun its 162-game marathon and is already down one starter in Lance Lynn. With the top two rotation arms now inactive, the organization’s lack of starting pitching depth is really coming back to bite them.
When it comes to filling the void left behind, we now know that Vince Velasquez will get the home opener nod on Tuesday. Beyond that, the Sox will have to get creative and possibly deploy arms like Reynaldo Lopez and Tanner Banks to eat some innings. The newly signed Johnny Cueto also figures to be a rotation option eventually, though he is still in the process of ramping up baseball activities.
As more unfolds, we will continue to update this article. Be sure to follow us on social media @SoxOn35th!
