More Good than Bad

Lucas Giolito of the White Sox pitched 7.1 scoreless innings against the Indians yesterday, to go 8-1 on the season as the Sox shut out the Indians, 2-0, to earn a tie for second in the Central Division at 29-30.  Giolito struck out nine, yielded five hits and no walks and needed 103 pitches to get into the eighth inning.  Giolito’s ERA now stands at 2.54, which would probably earn him a pat on the back from Al Lopez.

 

After the game, Giolito offered an explanation of his recent success that should go right into Pitching for Dummies.  “I’m doing a pretty good job of getting ahead of guys, filling up the zone [and] being aggressive in the strike zone,” he told the Tribune.  “Like I’ve been saying, it’s all about just attacking the zone, not being afraid of any hitter that steps in the box, [but] going after him,” Giolito was quoted in the Sun-Times.  Reyanaldo Lopez and Dylan Covey, please take note.

 

A game that featured eleven baserunners minus three double plays shouldn’t have taken 2:30 to play, and Tim Anderson, who drove in both runs, really didn’t need to stare so long at his solo shot in the fourth inning, but that’s old-school Doug talking.  Doug the perpetual booster of all things Midwest wants to know how the Sox missed on Cleveland starter Zach Plesac, nephew of ex-pitcher Dan, native of Crown Point, Indiana, and a Sox fan growing up.  In his first two MLB starts, against Sox teams Red and White, Plesac has a 1.46 ERA and .81 WHIP in 12.1 innings.  Did I mention that he attended Ball State and was a 12^th round draft pick in 2016 out of Ball State and a teammate of Alex Call, taken by the Sox in the third round that year?  I’m curious what Sox scouts saw that they didn’t like.

 

It really is a good day anytime you can win with CB Bucknor behind the plate.  Bucknor has a big/small/big strike zone to go with an emphatic punch-out motion on strike three.  If he ever went missing, most every MLB hitter would be suspect.