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.