Two batters into Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox starter Lucas Giolito had surrendered two runs courtesy of a home run by Josh Donaldson.
The Twins third baseman allegedly said something along the lines of “It’s not sticky anymore” as he made his way back to the dugout after the two-run blast.
Giolito didn’t catch any comments during the game, which the Sox went on to win 7-6, but he found out later.
“He’s a (bleeping) pest,” Giolito said. “That’s kind of a classless move. If you’re going to talk (bleep), talk (bleep) to my face. Don’t go across home plate and do all that. Just come to me.
“It’s just annoying. We won. The W’s next to my name. They’re in last place.”
The Twins are actually a half-game ahead of the fifth-place Kansas City Royals, but Giolito made his point with his pitching.
The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk in six-plus innings in front of 17,382 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“The fact he took the two runs on the board and just stopped and kept pitching and competing — and they have a good lineup — that’s what he does every time he pitches,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “He really sets a great example for our staff and he was rewarded. There have been several times where we had the lead and won the game later and he didn’t get the win. He deserves that win.”
Giolito (6-5) exited after giving up a leadoff double in the seventh.
“It was kind of like survival tonight,” he said. “I didn’t have very good feel. But able to sequence pretty well, made pitches when we needed. Credit goes to (catcher Zack) Collins behind the dish, calling a great game for me, and the defense behind me tonight, get that W.”
Gavin Sheets set the tone offensively in his big-league debut, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
“It was awesome, the whole night,” Sheets said. “Obviously to get the first hit out of the way early was awesome and got a lot of action in right field.
“It was a fantastic night. And to get the W in the end, a close game, was awesome.”
Leury García drove in two as the Sox took the opener of the rain-shortened series. They have a 21/2-game lead in the American League Central over the Cleveland Indians.
Sheets, recalled from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, singled to left in his first at-bat in the second inning.
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“Walking up to the plate, I could hardly feel my feet,” Sheets said. “The fan response was tremendous. It meant so much to me to hear their noise tonight and every time I came to the plate.
“The first pitch kind of settled me in. I got a splitter that was up in the zone and I was able to hit it to left field. Rounding first base was an awesome feeling, and getting to see D-Bo (first base coach Daryl Boston) with a big smile on his face topped it off.”
Sheets collected an RBI on a fielder’s choice in the third to tie the score at 2. García followed with an RBI single.
The Sox scored four runs in the fifth. Zack Collins scored on a bloop double by Sheets, making it 4-2.
“It was kind of nice,” Sheets said. “It switched from making your debut to being a big part of the game, and that was really nice for me to step in the box. It wasn’t as much about, ‘Hey, I’m in the big leagues.’ It was, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get a job done here.’
“I love at-bats with runners in scoring position. It was great to get the job done in those situations.”
Andrew Vaughn scored on García’s sacrifice fly to center, and Danny Mendick and Tim Anderson had RBI singles in the fifth.
The Twins scored three in the seventh, and reliever Evan Marshall exited with two outs after the training staff checked him out. The Sox said Marshall has right forearm soreness and is day to day.
Ryan Burr retired all four batters he faced.
The Twins scored once in the ninth and had the tying run on third with two outs, but Sox closer Liam Hendriks got Alex Kirilloff to fly out to center for his 21st save.
The Sox are 121/2 games ahead of the Twins. But the first inning added another page in the rivalry.
“It’s just annoying, man,” Giolito said of the situation with Donaldson. “I don’t really have much else to say other than that. I didn’t see it during the game. I saw it after the fact.”
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