Lucas Giolito's no-hitter highlights White Sox's thrashing of Pirates

Lucas Giolito

"To right field, Adam Engel ... is there! A no-hitter! The 19th in White Sox history!"

That was TV broadcaster Jason Benetti's call of the final out of Lucas Giolito's no-hitter Tuesday night, as the White Sox defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0. The South Siders also won Wednesday, homering four times to beat Pittsburgh, 10-3, and complete a two-game sweep.

But the story of the series was Giolito, who struck out 13 for his second outing in a row. He allowed only one Pittsburgh batter to reach base Tuesday, a leadoff walk to Erik Gonzalez in the top of the fourth inning. Giolito threw 101 pitches, 74 of them for strikes.

Here are some other notes from the no-hitter:

• The no-hitter is only the fourth in the 29-year history of New Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field. Giolito's is the first thrown by a right-handed pitcher. Mark Buehrle threw no-hitters in 2007 and 2009, the second of which was a perfect game. Francisco Liriano no-hit the Sox in 2011 as a member of the Minnesota Twins.
• Giolito's no-hitter is the first for the Sox since 2012, when Philip Humber pitched a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners.
• Giolito's 13 strikeouts are the most for any Sox pitcher in a no-hitter. The previous high was set by Humber, who had nine.
• Among the 101 pitches, Pittsburgh batters swing and missed 30 times. Giolito recorded the most swinging strikes by a Sox pitcher during the pitch tracking era, which began in 1988. Chris Sale had the previous high with 29.
• Giolito nearly tied a record for most swinging strikes in a no-hitter. The record is 31, and Nolan Ryan set that mark in 1990.
• Gonzalez lined out to Engel on a 0-2 fastball to end the game. The final out had a hit probability of 85%, the highest of any ball put in play by Pittsburgh the whole game. It's fortunate the Sox had Engel, an excellent defender, in right field instead of Nomar Mazara.

With the win, the Sox now are 19-12, tied with the Cleveland Indians for second place in the AL Central, a half-game back of the Minnesota Twins (20-12).

It's quite a three-team race with 29 games to go. The Sox have an off day Thursday, before facing the Kansas City Royals in a three-game weekend set at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Yolmer Sanchez returns to White Sox on minor-league deal

Yolmer Sanchez

Infielder Yolmer Sanchez is returning to the White Sox on a minor-league-deal, reports say.

Sanchez, 28, recently requested his release from the San Francisco Giants in order to "pursue other opportunities." He won an American League Gold Glove Award as the Sox's primary second baseman in 2019, but he was nontendered during the offseason because his bat isn't nearly as good as his glove.

Sanchez slashed .252/.318/.321 with only two home runs, 20 doubles and 43 RBIs last season.

However, it didn't work out for him in San Francisco, and the Sox find themselves in need of infield depth. Second baseman Nick Madrigal remains on the injured list with a separated shoulder, and all-purpose player Leury Garcia is done for the year after tearing ligaments in his thumb on an ill-advised dive into first base.

Danny Mendick has filled in admirably at second base, but third baseman Yoan Moncada has been laboring around the field, grimacing every time he has to run out a ground ball and struggling to play his position. Clearly, Moncada is operating at less than 100%, but he needs to be on the field because with Madrigal and Garcia out, the next-best infield option is ... Ryan Goins. (Gulp.)

Enter Sanchez, who despite his weaknesses with the bat is a capable fielder no matter where you put him on the infield. He's a switch-hitter, and he is better offensively than the journeyman Goins.

I expect Sanchez to get some reps in at the Sox's alternate site in Schaumburg, and then eventually replace Goins on the 28-man roster.

So, let's welcome Sanchez back to the Sox organization with our traditional song:

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu named American League Player of the Week

Jose Abreu

What a difference eight or nine days can make in a shortened, 60-game season.

When play concluded on Aug. 15, the White Sox were down in the dumps. They looked terrible against the COVID-19-ravaged St. Louis Cardinals, getting swept in a doubleheader to drop to 10-11 on the season.

At that time, first baseman Jose Abreu was hitting .247/.289/.412 with three home runs and 12 RBIs. He looked like a 33-year-old slugger in decline.

But then Abreu homered on Aug. 16 as part of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back assault on St. Louis pitching in the fifth inning of a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals.

The Detroit Tigers then came to Guaranteed Rate Field for four games. The Sox won them all, with Abreu going 9 for 18 with a homer -- it was a game-winner on Aug. 19 -- and six RBIs in the four-game sweep.

Pretty good, huh?

Well, we hadn't seen anything yet. In a three-game weekend series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Abreu went 7 for 12 with six home runs and nine RBIs. Four of the six home runs came in consecutive plate appearances. Abreu homered in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings of Saturday's 7-4 victory, and again in the second inning of a 2-1 loss -- that defeat snapped a season-high seven-game winning streak for the Sox.

This was historic greatness for Abreu. Homering in four consecutive at-bats ties a Major League record, and six home runs in a three-game series? That's never happened in Sox history, and the Sox have been a team since 1901.

Abreu's season slash now stands at .322/.365/.669 with a league-leading 11 home runs and a league-leading 28 RBIs. His batting average ranks sixth in the AL, so all of a sudden, Abreu is in the hunt for a Triple Crown, and he's an MVP candidate.

After batting .533 this week, Abreu was a no-brainer choice for American League Player of the Week.

And the Sox? They are 17-12, tied with the Cleveland Indians for second place in the AL Central -- only 2.5 games back of first-place Minnesota. According to baseballreference.com, the Sox had a 93.7% chance of making the playoffs as of Monday morning.

That goes to show you how quickly things can change this season.

White Sox extend winning streak to 5, but lose Carlos Rodon to injury

Carlos Rodon

Good news: The White Sox won their fifth consecutive game with a 6-4 victory over Milwaukee on Monday night.

The South Siders were trailing 4-2 after six innings, but they tied it when Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer on a 3-0 pitch from Corbin Burnes in the top of the seventh inning. The Sox went ahead 5-4 in the eighth when Leury Garcia scored on a wild pitch by David Phelps. Yoan Moncada homered in the ninth off Corey Knebel to make it 6-4, and Alex Colome got three outs in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Ross Detwiler went 1.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory, and the veteran lefty has now worked 8.1 scoreless innings to start the season.

Sounds good, right?

Too bad Sox starter Carlos Rodon got hurt to dampen the mood. The lefty lasted only two innings because of a shoulder problem. His velocity was noticeably down in the second inning, topping out at only 88-89 mph. We know that when Rodon is right, he can fire it up there in the mid-90s. That hasn't been happening, and now he's on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder soreness.

This will further test the Sox's starting pitching depth. With Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Jimmy Lambert all injured and unlikely to return anytime soon -- and with Michael Kopech opted out of the 2020 season -- options are diminishing.

Maybe Detwiler will be taking Rodon's place in the rotation. Or maybe Dane Dunning will be recalled. And, hey, the Sox signed veteran lefty Clayton Richard to a minor league deal the other day.

That's where the team is at right now with the starting pitching, and it isn't pretty.

With Rodon headed to the injured list, the team purchased the contract of right-hander Brady Lail from the Schaumburg training facility. Lail, 26, has pitched one game in the major leagues in his life, last season with the New York Yankees. He gave up three earned runs in 2.2 innings before being designated for assignment.

In other words, don't expect much.

To make room for Lail on the 40-man roster. the Sox designated outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe for assignment. This will not be a popular move with the prospect-loving wing of the Sox fan base.

Basabe is the much ballyhooed "third piece" of the Chris Sale trade (behind Moncada and Kopech), and at one point in time, he looked like he could be a contributor for the Sox -- at least as an extra outfielder.

The reality is Basabe is soon to be 24 years old, he's never played above Double-A ball, and he's a career .248 hitter in the minors with only 44 home runs in nearly 600 games. I have no idea whether he'll be claimed on waivers -- I'm guessing yes -- but if he is, I don't envision losing a lot of sleep over it.

I do think there are other guys I would have parted with first, but if we're being honest, Basabe has never been healthy or particularly good since joining the Sox organization.

White Sox get much-needed three-game sweep in Kansas City

Nick Madrigal

Games against the Kansas City Royals have been a painful experience for White Sox fans over the past decade. Sure, the Royals were good in 2014 and 2015, but in a lot of other seasons, you felt as though the Sox were the better team, but it did not play out that way in head-to-head matchups.

Take 2019, for example. The Royals were 59-103, but they still managed to go 10-9 against the Sox. That probably should not have happened, but it did.

Given that history, it was really nice to see the Sox win all three games in Kansas City this weekend, by a combined score of 23-9.

In roster moves of note, Nick Madrigal received his overdue call-up and started all three games at second base. He went hitless the first two games, before breaking out with a 4-for-5 performance that included two runs scored and an RBI in the series finale.

Relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera was thankfully designated for assignment. Since joining the Sox before the start of the 2019 season, he appeared in 59 games and posted a 6.54 ERA. In two appearances this season, he allowed four earned runs -- including two homers -- over 2.1 innings. His fastball velocity was sitting in the low 90s -- it was in the upper 90s in Herrera's prime -- and the right-hander would have automatically had his contract option picked up for 2021 if he made 21 appearances during this shortened season.

The Sox simply could not allow that to happen. It was time for Herrera to go, and he is gone.

In less happy news, shortstop Tim Anderson strained his groin in Friday's game against the Royals, and he's on the 10-day injured list. The Sox will need to survive with Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick playing that position for the time being.

Catcher Yermin Mercedes was recalled to take Anderson's spot on the 30-man roster.

Here are some other thoughts on each of the weekend games:

Friday, July 31
White Sox 3, Royals 2: The key sequence of this game came in the top of the second inning. Eloy Jimenez reached on an error, right before Luis Robert beat out what should have been a sure double-play ball. It should have been two outs with nobody on base. Instead, Robert was on first with one out. James McCann was hit by a pitch, and Adam Engel hit a three-run homer off Kansas City lefty Kris Bubic to put the Sox ahead, 3-0.

Dallas Keuchel (2-0) allowed two runs over 5.2 innings to pick up his second win with the Sox, and three relievers combined to make a one-run lead stick the rest of the way. Alex Colome pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

Saturday Aug. 1
White Sox 11, Royals 5: After Anderson got injured Friday night, Robert moved into the leadoff spot and turned in a dominant performance. The rookie center fielder went 4 for 6 with a homer, two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Jimenez also finished a triple short of the cycle. He went 4 for 6 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer that capped off a four-run top of the first.

The Sox finished with 21 hits as a team. Garcia also had a four-hit night in place of Anderson at shortstop. Yasmani Grandal's two-out, two-run double in the top of the ninth took the score from 7-4 to 9-4, and the Sox piled on from there.

Rookie reliever Matt Foster got the win in his first major league appearance, and rookie Codi Heuer got his first career save, because he entered in the eighth when the score was 7-4. The Sox needed seven pitchers to get through the game, but the offense was good enough to carry the day.

Sunday, Aug. 2
White Sox 9, Royals 2: This game was tied at 2 through six innings, but the Sox erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away. The rally was started and finished by Madrigal, who led off the inning with a single and capped it with an RBI single.

The inning also featured a two-out, two-run single by the erstwhile Nicky Delmonico, who has been struggling mightily to get anything done at the plate. Credit Delmonico for capitalizing on a hanging slider from Greg Holland, but you know, he's still only batting .150 for the season.

The rally made a winner of Dylan Cease (1-1), who bounced back from a crummy outing against the Indians with six innings of two-run ball. Cease struck out four and walked only one.

The Sox are now 5-4 heading into a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. The first two will be played in Wisconsin. The second two will be played on the South Side. Here are your pitching probables:

Monday, 7:10 p.m.: Carlos Rodon (0-1, 12.27 ERA) vs. Brett Anderson
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.: Lucas Giolito (0-1, 6.52 ERA) vs. Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 1.59 ERA)
Wednesday, 7:10 p.m.: Keuchel (2-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. Adrian Houser (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Thursday, 7:10 p.m.: Gio Gonzalez (0-0, 7.36 ERA vs. TBA