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.

Houston Astros win 2017 World Series with 5-1 victory over Los Angeles Dodgers

George Springer

The Houston Astros lost 111 games in 2013. Four years later, they are the best team in baseball.

The Astros completed their climb from the bottom of the pit to the top of the mountain Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.

This World Series was one of the most dramatic in a long time, but somewhat surprisingly, Game 7 might have been the only "boring" game of the bunch. The Astros roughed up Los Angeles starter Yu Darvish, scoring five runs in the first two innings. There was never a point where you felt as though the Dodgers could overcome the early 5-0 deficit.

The MVP vote was a foregone conclusion. Leadoff hitter George Springer was right in the middle of everything Houston did offensively in Game 7. His double started a two-run rally in the first inning, and his two-run homer in the second inning capped a three-run rally that made it 5-0.

Springer homered for the fourth consecutive game, tying a World Series record. He hit five home runs total in the series. That also ties a record. Springer posted a .379/.471/1.000 slash line for the series with 11 hits -- eight for extra bases -- and eight runs scored.

Yes, that's a clear MVP-worthy performance.

If we were to pick a LVP (Least Valuable Player) off the Dodgers roster, it would have to be Darvish. The midseason acquisition let Los Angeles down big time, failing to make it out of the second inning in both of his World Series starts.

In Game 7, Darvish lasted only 1.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned). In Game 3, he lasted only 1.2 innings, allowing four earned runs. Final line: 0-2 with a 21.60 ERA.

The Dodgers acquired Darvish with the idea that he would be a "second ace" behind Clayton Kershaw. That just didn't work out.

Houston, meanwhile, navigated Game 7 by using five different pitchers, most of whom are not household names. Starter Lance McCullers hit four batters and allowed three hits in his 2.1 innings, but he managed to keep the Dodgers off the board.

Brad Peacock tossed two scoreless innings, and Francisco Liriano and Chris Devenski each retired the only hitter that they faced. That left the final four innings to right-hander Charlie Morton, who allowed a run in the sixth but shut the door in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Morton struck out four and allowed only two hits to earn the victory. The 33-year-old journeyman was a free agent coming off surgery last offseason. Any team could have had him, but not many teams wanted him. And how could they? Morton entered 2017 with a career 46-71 record with a 4.54 ERA.

The Astros took a chance on revitalizing Morton's career, and it came up aces. He made 25 starts during the regular season and went 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA. On Wednesday night, he recorded the 12 biggest outs of his 10-year career in the majors with a performance that likely will never be forgotten in Houston.

When a team wins a championship, its season is usually characterized by not only big performances from core stars (Springer), but also unexpected contributions from players who are perceived as being on the margins (Morton).

The Astros got what they needed when they needed it, and I think they surprised a lot of people by vanquishing the big-money, 104-win Dodgers.

Jose Quintana: Still with the White Sox, but hasn't been named Opening Day starter

Jose Quintana

CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes tweeted Wednesday that the White Sox still have not made a decision on their Opening Day starting pitcher. Manager Rick Renteria wants folks to "give him a few more days."

This is unusual, because if you take a look at the Sox's roster, there is no debate about who should be starting the home opener. Jose Quintana is a proven All-Star left-hander, easily one of the top 20 pitchers in the game, and probably top 15. Then, the Sox have four other guys in the rotation. There is substantial drop-off from Quintana to Carlos Rodon and Miguel Gonzalez, and then another drop-off to James Shields and Derek Holland.

So what's the delay in naming Quintana the starter for the first game? There must be something blowing in the wind on the trade market. The only reason for Renteria to start any other pitcher besides Quintana on April 3 would be because Quintana is no longer on the team.

Jeff Passan, Yahoo's MLB columnist, weighed in on Quintana's situation Wednesday, but there's nothing more to his report than the same things we've been reading from the Sox beat reporters all spring: "White Sox scouts are everywhere. They are willing to deal Quintana, but only for the right price, etc., etc. etc."

The teams mentioned as possible suitors are ones that we've been hearing all along -- the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Passan correctly notes the market for front-end pitching is bleak beyond Quintana. He says sources tell him that Milwaukee's Junior Guerra, who enjoyed a breakout season as a 31-year-old rookie (!) in 2016, is the next-best starting pitcher who might be available after Quintana.

And, the market might not be much stronger when we get to the middle of the season. Perhaps Oakland's Sonny Gray gets healthy and rebuilds his value. Perhaps not. Perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays fall out of the race and become more willing to deal Chris Archer. Perhaps not. Even if the Toronto Blue Jays falter, Quintana still would be a more attractive options for a contender than Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano.

The Sox are biding their time, hoping to get the deal they want, and gambling a little bit that Quintana will remain both healthy and effective until they make a move. The club's inability to commit to Quintana as the Opening Day starter makes it clear to me that there's something going on, but somewhat amazingly in this day and age, whatever is going on has been kept under the radar -- even from well-connected national baseball reporters such as Passan.

Buyer's remorse? Five worst recent deadline deals, White Sox edition

The White Sox have had success adding pieces at the trade deadline, but it's maybe arguable they've had more failure making deals under duress. Here are the five worst July trades since 2000:

5. July 25, 2002: Traded Ray Durham and cash to the Oakland Athletics. Received Jon Adkins.

Durham was set to be a free agent at the end of the year and a July nosedive had taken the Sox from four games back in the AL Central in late June to 14 games behind Cleveland when Durham was traded.

Not wanting to sign the then-30-year-old Durham to a big contract, but determined to get something for him, the Sox took a flyer on Adkins. Which might have made sense if not for the fact that under baseball's last collective bargaining agreement, the Sox could have offered Durham arbitration and either gotten him to agree to an affordable one-year contract, or gotten draft pick compensation when he signed with another team.

The Sox might have been better off with that draft pick than watching Adkins flounder to a 5.08 ERA in just less than 80 innings in his Sox career. Sox fans probably would have more enjoyed another two months of Durham's under-appreciated career.

4. July 28, 2012: Traded Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez to the Minnesota Twins. Received Francisco Liriano.

Liriano was walking one of the valleys of an up-and-down career with the Twins, but as a left-hander with good velocity, he seemed like a good candidate to improve under the tutelage of Sox pitching coach Don Cooper.

Instead of recapturing the dominant form he had flashed at times since his rookie year, Liriano kept nibbling at the strike zone, walking too many batters and giving up home runs at inopportune times. Deciding they'd done all they could do with him, the Sox let Liriano walk in the offseason only to watch him have a resurgent year that helped carry Pittsburgh to the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades.

Liriano probably wouldn't have found that success in the American League, or without a ballpark that helps hide some of his flaws. And the Sox probably don't miss Escobar or Hernandez. It was still a disappointing outcome as Lirano's struggles were part of the reason a division title slipped through the Sox's fingers.

3. July 26, 2001: Traded James Baldwin and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Jeff Barry, Gary Majewski and Onan Masaoka.

The Sox predictably got little for Baldwin, who like Durham was set to be a free agent after the season in which he was traded. Unlike Durham, Baldwin wasn't very good.

What makes this trade embarrassing for the Sox is that they didn't actually want Jeff Barry, a journeyman minor league first baseman. They wanted pitching prospect Jonathan Berry.

Berry never made the majors, otherwise this would have been an embarrassment that could have lived on for years and years.

2. July 27, 2011: Traded Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart.

Instead of trading their best asset near the deadline, the Sox basically bundled it with Teahen's ill-advised contract for salary relief, plus the meh and bleh performances they'd respectively get from Frasor and Stewart.

Jackson certainly had value as the Jays immediately spun him off in a package for Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus. In a way Rasmus has been a hitting version of Jackson, with his up-and-down career that hasn't seen him reach his full potential. Though it's no doubt Rasmus' line with Toronto (.233/.295/.431) would make a number of Sox outfielders over the last three years envious.

No matter how crowded their rotation was at the time, or if Rasmus or someone similar would have been available in a similar package, the Sox should have done much better in any deal with Jackson while he was near the peak of his value.

1. July 30, 2010: Traded David Holmberg and Daniel Hudson to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Edwin Jackson.

Jackson graces the list twice, coming and going. Even though Jackson had one the better stretches of his career with the Sox (3.66 ERA over 196 2/3 innings), it was an awful idea to trade the young Hudson for him straight up, much less adding another prospect in Holmberg.

The Sox were concerned Hudson's fly ball tendencies wouldn't play in their ballpark. They were frustrated that he nibbled at the plate in his brief audition with the big club. And they were worried he would get hurt.

The injury concerns were validated when Hudson needed elbow surgery during the 2012 season, and then needed another during his comeback attempt. Still, he pitched to a 3.58 ERA over 347 innings for the Diamondbacks (who also play in a homer-friendly park) before his injuries. He also did it for nearly league minimum salaries.

Besides not getting good value back in Jackson, it was rumored the Sox had only traded for him in an attempt to pry Adam Dunn away from the Washington Nationals. When Nats GM Mike Rizzo either backed out, or the Jackson-for-Dunn swap wasn't as solid as Sox GM Kenny Williams had believed, the Sox were stuck with Jackson and ended up claiming Manny Ramirez off waivers in August to bolster their offense instead.

All of this was to help hold on to an unlikely division lead grabbed after an unreal 26-5 stretch during June and July. And the Sox did lead as late as Aug. 8, but the reinforcements didn't really matter much as the team slid to a double-digit deficit by mid-September. 

That the Sox were willing to spend big bucks to keep their run alive in 2010 only made it more frustrating when they punted in 2011 just to save a few bucks they never would have had the need to spend if they'd kept Hudson around.

Francisco Liriano pitches Pittsburgh Pirates into NLDS

Coming into this year, the Pittsburgh Pirates hadn't had a winning season since 1992. I don't think too many people picked the Pirates to go to the playoffs back in April, but here they are, still playing as the calendar turns to October. They went 94-68, and they are one of the feel-good stories of the year.

Pittsburgh will head to St. Louis to open the National League Division Series on Thursday night after its 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Tuesday's NL Wild Card Game.

How does a team like the Pirates go from the outhouse to the penthouse so quickly? Well, like everything else, it's a combination of skill and luck. You need some guys to come out of the woodwork and have surprise years for you. Take Francisco Liriano (pictured), for instance.

By any standard, Liriano had a lousy 2012. He went 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA in 22 starts with the Minnesota Twins. He was traded to the White Sox midseason, where he failed to make an impact. In 12 appearances (11 starts) on the South Side, he went 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA. Manager Robin Ventura could not trust Liriano in big games, and the left-hander was one of the reasons the Sox spit up their AL Central lead late in the season.

Liriano became a free agent and had few offers over the offseason. The Pirates took a chance, and it has paid huge dividends. Liriano made 26 regular season starts for Pittsburgh and won 16 of them, finishing 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA. It was easily his best season in three years.

He found himself on the mound Tuesday night against Cincinnati, and he delivered perhaps the most clutch performance of his career. He went seven innings, and he allowed just a run on four hits while striking out five. Much like the Pirates as a team, Liriano has gone from the scrap heap to relevance in just one year.

The win was Pittsburgh's first in the postseason since Oct. 13, 1992. That has to be a good feeling for Pirates fans. They'll be underdogs against the mighty Cardinals for sure, but they've waited a long time for playoff baseball in that city. They have the opportunity, in part, because they've gotten surprising contributions from guys like Liriano.