CHICAGO — White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito threw his first career no-hitter on Tuesday night, shutting out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, on 101 pitches.
Giolito, 26, walked one while striking out 13 using a combination of his fastball and changeup to hold the Pirates in check en route to the shortened season’s first no-hitter.
Shortstop Tim Anderson made a nice late-inning defensive play to help the no-hitter cause, moving to his right on a ground ball by Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds in the seventh.
First baseman Jose Abreu scooped up the throw in the dirt to keep the no-hitter intact. The final out came on a line drive from Erik Gonzalez to right field which Adam Engel snagged before the celebration began.
The White Sox scored three runs in the second inning then tallied one more in the third as they won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
The White Sox improved to 18-12 with their eighth home win, and it was the 19th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history.
During his postgame interview on the field with NBC Sports Chicago, Giolito received a Gatorade cooler full of water on his back from teammates.
“It was just staying with the same mental routine for every single pitch, one pitch at a time: This pitch right here, full focus, full execution, straight through the target,” he said, responding to how he handled the pressure. “It was definitely harder in the ninth inning, but we stayed with it.”
Giolito said he began to feel the full potential of the no-hitter when he took the mound after six innings.
“Seventh inning, it became very, very, very possible,” he said, “and we were able to get it done.”