Adieu, Nick

ESPN figured out right quick who Lucas Giolito is.  He’s the guy who faced 28 Pirate batters last night on his way to the nineteenth no-hitter in White Sox history.  Giolito walked one, fanned 13 and needed 101 pitches to get the job done.

 

A tip of the cap to shortstop Tim Anderson, who ranged far to his right from his shift position for left-hand hitting Bryon Reynolds in the seventh inning.  Anderson threw across his body on the move for the out.  And a tip of the cap to first baseman Jose Abreu for scooping Anderson’s throw out of the dirt.  And a final doff of the chapeau to right fielder Adam Engle, who made a B+ running catch of a sinking opposite-field line drive by Erik Gonzalez for the 27^th and final out.

 

I’ll save my kudos for Giolito and his catcher, James McCann.  Giolito showed his composure, not just for the game but the season, given all those comments made by critics, including yours truly.  The man who gave up a towering homerun on the first pitch of the season has methodically righted the ship.  To give you an idea as to how bad Giolito was, he’s now tossed seventeen straight scoreless innings, to get his ERA down to 3.09.  Don’t stop now, Lucas.

 

And for you doubters out there sure to point out that the 7-18 Pirates are a woeful lot, just let me say, so were the 40-120 Mets of 1962, and they only got no-hit once that year, by Sandy Koufax.  The Dodger lefty walked five while striking out 13.  The Mets threw eight right-handed batters (pitcher included) against Koufax while the Pirates’ lineup featured seven left-handed batters (DH included) against the right-handed Giolito.  You decide who had the tougher go of it.

 

Lastly, McCann.  He’s caught Giolito’s last two games.  According to baseball-reference.com, Yasmani Grandal has caught Giolito four times, during which time the starter has amassed a 5.66 ERA.  With McCann catching three games, Giolito’s ERA falls to 0.78.  Hmm.  Why is pitch framing so important, again?

 

McCann also caught Dylan Cease Sunday against the Cubs in what I think was Cease’s best showing against a team not named the Tigers.  I love what Giolito has done to transform himself, and I can’t help but feel McCann is a part of that.  Sox GM Rick Hahn had better be careful about letting McCann walk at the end of the season.