Zavala’s Game Plan Helps Lucas Giolito’s Stellar Performance
Before the second game of the White Sox doubleheader against the Phillies on Tuesday, Lucas Gioltio was comparing notes with catcher Seby Zavala when Zavala told him to set the tone early and attack the Phillies from the jump. That’s exactly what the 6-6 right-hander did.
“I told Lucas, ‘We have to get this going early,'” Zavala said. “The first game was not what we wanted or how we wanted to start a doubleheader. But yeah, Lucas took the ball and did exactly what we needed.”
Gioltio fired six hitless innings with seven strikeouts, one walk, one hit batter, and no runs. His stuff looked sharp, with his fastball topping out at 94.6 mph. Giolito also recorded 12 swings and misses and dipped into his full arsenal of pitches to do it. Of his seven strikeouts, two came with his slider, two with his changeup, and three with his fastball.
Giolito’s changeup helped get him out of a jam in the sixth inning and end Bryson Stott’s 17-game hit streak after he induced a huge 6-4-3 double play in the sixth inning. He used his changeup to retire Stott in all three at-bats, getting him to pop out to the catcher in the first inning and then a fly out to left in the third.
“He’s got a really good changeup,” Stott said after Giolito snapped his hitting streak. “He’s so tall, and he just kind of–you see it, but it never gets to home plate. I think a lot of us were out in front on it, so once that’s in your head, he can beat you with other stuff. He did a really good job.”
Giolito attributed a lot of his success to catcher Seby Zavala.
“All I have to do is execute pitches. Let him call pitches. He did a great job tonight,” Giolito said when asked about his battery mate.
Gioltio told Steve Stone and Jason Benetti after the game that the pair was on the same page all night and that Seby does a great job coming up with a good game plan, adding that he is “a very reliable catcher to throw to.”
Zavala also helped settle Giolito down after he hit Garret Stubbs with a dangerous pitch up and in to lead off the sixth inning. This was the second game in a row Gioltio has gone inside and done some damage to the opposing hitter. Something that the 27-year-old was not thrilled about.
Zavala immediately called time and went to the mound to get his starter to refocus. The move paid off as Giolito was able to retire the next two hitters and escape the inning.
Giolito lobbied with manager Pedro Grifol to try to continue his no-hit bid for the seventh inning despite already throwing 102 pitches.
Grifol wasn’t having it. He told reporters after the game that if the pitch count was lower, he would have allowed Giolito to chase history. But that wasn’t in the cards tonight.
“I’ll be lenient with that stuff, Grifol said. “That stuff comes once in a lifetime. Maybe twice. We were just a little too far away. He fought a little bit. But he knew it was the right thing to do.”
Giolito is beginning to look like his All-Star self again. In his last two starts, he has combined for 12 innings of one-run ball and racked up 14 strikeouts. In the process, he lowered his ERA from 9.00 to 4.29.
On Wednesday, he was able to dial into a good rhythm and mound presence from the jump. The pitch clock has aided part of this because it doesn’t give him time to overthink things and get into his own head.
“Having good rhythm and good mound presence is hugely crucial for my success,” Gioliot said. “Actually, Pedro reminded me about it because he was on the other side watching me for a while, and we had a very long conversation in Spring Training about that topic that really put a light bulb in for me.”
The bullpen was able to lock down the final three innings, which has been a rarity early on this season. However, Aaron Bummer lost the combined no-hitter in the process, giving up a double in the eighth inning.
While there was no no-hitter celebration, the White Sox were happy to salvage a doubleheader split and even happier to see Giolito rounding back into form. They are going to need him to pitch like an ace moving forward if they hope to weather the early storm of injuries and win the division.