MLB The Show sim: Lucas Giolito doesn't have ace stuff vs. Mariners

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NBC Sports Chicago is simulating the 2020 White Sox season via MLB The Show during the postponement of play. The White Sox, stocked with young talent and veteran offseason acquisitions, were expected to take a big step forward in their rebuild this season. Follow along as we play out the first few months of the season.

As the ace of the White Sox, Lucas Giolito looked to right the ship against the Mariners after the South Siders dropped the opener on Monday. Unfortunately for Chicago, Giolito did not have his top-of-the-rotation stuff.

The Mariners broke the seal vs. Giolito in the second. With two outs in the inning, J.P. Crawford lined a two-out double over the head of Edwin Encarnacion to drive in a pair and give Seattle a 2-1 lead. In the third, Daniel Vogelbach absolutely demolished a middle-of-the-zone fastball 444 feet to center field for a two-run blast, putting the Mariners ahead 4-1.

Giolito could not stop the bleeding in the fourth. Mitch Haniger slapped an RBI-double down the left field line to extend the lead to 6-1 and that was all she wrote for the White Sox ace. The run scored on Vogelbach’s bloop single later in the inning was also attributed to Giolito, who finished the day allowing seven earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work.

Meanwhile, the White Sox potent offense was largely quieted once again by Mariners pitching. Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal extended their hit streaks to 10 and 8 games, respectively. Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Edwin Encarnacion all collected solo homers but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

Result: Mariners def. White Sox 7-4

Record: 6-5, third in AL Central (0.5 GB of Indians)

W: Taijuan Walker (1-1)

L: Lucas Giolito (1-1)

SV: Yoshihisa Hurano (2)

White Sox lineup

  1. Tim Anderson: 1-5, HR (2), RBI (.354 BA)

  2. Yoan Moncada: 0-5 (.292 BA)

  3. Jose Abreu: 1-5, HR (3), RBI (.260 BA)

  4. Edwin Encarnacion: 3-4, HR (3), RBI (.289 BA)

  5. Yasmani Grandal: 1-4 (.326 BA)

  6. Eloy Jimenez: 1-4 (.268 BA)

  7. Luis Robert: 0-2, 2 BB (.167 BA)

  8. Nomar Mazara: 1-4, RBI (.200 BA)

  9. Leury Garcia: 1-4 (.217 BA)

Scoring summary

Bottom first

  • Jose Abreu homered to right. 1-0 CHW.

Top second

  • J.P. Crawford doubled to right. Carlos Gonzalez scored. Dom Thompson-Williams scored. 2-1 SEA.

Top third

  • Daniel Vogelbach homered to center. Mallex Smith scored. 4-1 SEA.

Top fourth

  • Mallex Smith grounded out to shortstop. J.P. Crawford scored. 5-1 SEA

  • Mitch Haniger doubled to left. Dylan Moore scored. 6-1 SEA

  • Daniel Vogelbach singled to left. Mitch Haniger scored. 7-1 SEA

Bottom fifth

  • Tim Anderson homered to left. 7-2 SEA

Bottom sixth

  • Edwin Encarnacion homered to left. 7-3 SEA

Bottom eighth

  • Nomar Mazara singled to left. Edwin Encarnacion scored. 7-4 SEA

Notable performance: At this stage in Encarnacion’s career, the 37-year-old wasn’t expected to be a centerpiece of the White Sox offense. However, through 11 games, there doesn’t seem to be much dropoff in Encarnacion’s play. After a three-hit day vs. the Mariners, the vet has three home runs and five RBIs with a .437 on-base percentage this season.

Next game: Wednesday, April 8 - Game 12: Mariners at White Sox (Yusei Kikuchi, 0-0, 11.00 ERA vs. Dallas Keuchel, 0-1, 10.80 ERA)

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