The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers are playing their first game of the season on Friday at Comerica Park, in Detroit.
The Tigers sent Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound, while the reigning AL Central champions had Lucas Giolito as their Opening Day starter.
After just four innings and 61 pitches, however, Giolito left the game, and it was pretty clear it was because of an injury even though he didn’t show any signs of being in pain.
The White Sox’s official Twitter account wrote: “Lucas Giolito left the game with abdominal tightness on his left side. He is being further evaluated.”
Lucas Giolito left the game with abdominal tightness on his left side. He is being further evaluated.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 8, 2022
There are a few takeaways after that update.
The White Sox Should Be Happy It’s Not An Arm Injury
First, the White Sox are probably thankful that Giolito’s injury isn’t arm-related: anything going on with his elbow and/or shoulder would have likely knocked him out for a significant period of time.
They have to perform tests and imaging to get to the bottom of the issue, though, so a stint on the 10-day injured list should not be ruled out completely.
Giolito was pitching an excellent game and could probably go one or two additional innings if he hasn’t been forced to go out.
He was holding the Tigers to just one hit and two walks and no runs, with six strikeouts and an impressive 12 whiffs (swings and misses) in his 61 pitches.
The hope is that he doesn’t have to miss much time, but the tests and the diagnosis of the team doctors will be the deciding factors.
At the moment of writing this piece, the White Sox and Tigers were on a close, hotly-contested, low-scoring battle.
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