White Sox take two out of three from Blue Jays

Lucas Giolito needed more than just a fastball-changeup combination to get through his start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, but it worked out well for him. The White Sox right-hander improved to 4-1 with seven innings of one-run ball in the South Siders' 5-1 victory.

With the win, the Sox (18-21) took two out of three from the slumping Blue Jays (16-24) and completed their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, May 10
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3: One of the most frustrating things about the Sox rebuild is Dylan Covey finding his way back into the rotation. Covey has made 35 starts and appeared in 49 games for the Sox since the beginning of the 2017 season. In that time, he's gone 5-23 with a 6.09 ERA.

I think we know this isn't working. Covey shouldn't be in the rotation, but the Sox have yet to draft, develop or sign anybody good enough to relegate him to the bullpen, or to Triple-A Charlotte.

Covey's 23rd career loss came Friday when he gave up three-run homer to Randal Grichuk in the first inning and a solo home run to Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning. That put the Sox in a 4-1 hole, and they couldn't recover.

Covey went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with three strikeouts and five walks. Tim Anderson went 2 for 4 with his seventh home run of the season in the loss.

Saturday, May 11
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 2: I hated the signing of catcher James McCann when it happened, and I'm not sure his red-hot start to the season is real. But, kudos to him for shutting me up so far.

McCann went 4 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored an RBI to power the Sox's 11-hit attack in this victory. Late-inning offense also was key. The Sox led 2-0 after six innings, but they blew the game open with two runs in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Yolmer Sanchez homered, Charlie Tilson had two hits, and the Sox were productive despite an 0-for-5 day from Jose Abreu.

Ivan Nova (2-3) won his second start on the road trip, working six-plus innings. He allowed only one run on a solo home run by Grichuk, and limited Toronto to five hits.

Let's also give props to recently recalled right-handed reliever Evan Marshall, who needed only six pitches to get three outs in the seventh inning. The Sox could use some more competence from low- and medium-leverage guys in the bullpen.

Sunday, May 12
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 1: Giolito was shaky early. The Blue Jays got a run on three hits in the first inning, and they got a leadoff single in the second inning. But after that, Giolito allowed absolutely nothing.

He worked seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. In his previous outing, a win against Cleveland, Giolito used only four breaking balls the whole game. This time, he threw 22 sliders and nine curves, as the early struggles showed him that he needed to rely on more than just two fastball-changeup. However, he made the adjustment effectively and turned in another outstanding start. Good to see.

There have been other times when we thought or hoped Giolito was turning a corner, so we'll reserve judgment on what this means for the long haul, but give him credit for two A-plus starts on this trip.

The Sox got all the offense they needed in a five-run fourth inning. Yonder Alonso hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to put the South Siders ahead. Anderson added a three-run homer, his eighth of the season and second of the series, to make it 5-1.

Giolito took over from there. Ryan Burr and Aaron Bummer each worked a scoreless inning of relief, and the Sox had a solid series win against a team that, frankly, they should beat. I'm not impressed with the Blue Jays this season.