Giolito, White Sox Beat A's 4-1 In Wild-Card Round Opener
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Lucas Giolito dazzled in his postseason debut, stymieing the Oakland Athletics through six perfect innings and sending the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory in the opener of their best-of-three wild-card series Tuesday.
Giolito (1-0), who pitched a no-hitter against Pittsburgh on Aug. 25, didn't allow a baserunner to the AL West champions until Tommy La Stella's single up the middle to start the seventh. Giolito gave up one run on two hits over seven innings, struck out eight and walked one before giving way to Evan Marshall after a stellar 100-pitch outing.
Giolito got plenty of support: José Abreu hit a two-run homer and Adam Engel also connected for Chicago against Jesus Luzardo (0-1). Yasmani Grandal homered in the eighth.
Alex Colome, Chicago's third reliever, worked the ninth for a save in the 2-hour, 53-minute game.
Now, Oakland must win Game 2 on Wednesday at home to avoid another early playoff exit. The A's are in the postseason for a third straight year, having lost in the AL wild-card game each of the past two seasons after 97 wins both times.
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