The four-day All-Star break, combined with Lucas Giolito’s past dominance against the Guardians, was supposed to serve as an extended break for the White Sox’ pitching staff.
But that master plan took a hit after Giolito allowed six runs and lasted only three innings in the Sox’ 8-2 loss in the series opener Friday against the Guardians.
The Sox will need length from Johnny Cueto and Lance Lynn in the split doubleheader Saturday to compensate for Giolito’s shortest outing since April 19, 2021, when he allowed eight runs (seven earned) in one inning against the Red Sox in Boston.
Manager Tony La Russa said the entire bullpen, outside of Jimmy Lambert, will be available Saturday. The Sox’ 27th man for the doubleheader will be a pitcher.
The Guardians didn’t pound Giolito, as evidenced by the fact that seven of their nine hits had exit velocities slower than 80 mph. But they made contact frequently, and Andres Gimenez capped a four-run first inning with a two-run home run.
‘‘[Giolito] knows we needed innings,’’ La Russa said. ‘‘He definitely wanted to go back out there. Sometimes it’s just not your day.’’
Giolito entered the game with a 1.77 ERA in his career against the Guardians, including a 0.99 ERA in his last 10 starts against them.
‘‘Just a rough outing,’’ Giolito said. ‘‘It [stinks]. It’s a results game, so getting poor results, putting the team in a hole, I’ve got to find a way to be better.’’
All the offense the Sox could muster was an RBI double by Jose Abreu and an RBI grounder by Yasmani Grandal in the third.
Juggling rotation?
The Sox have been mindful about protecting Michael Kopech’s arm in his first full season as a starter. He likely will make his next start Tuesday in Denver on 10 days of rest, and Sunday will mark Dylan Cease’s third consecutive start on six days of rest.
The Sox have three scheduled days off through Aug. 8, allowing them the possibility of juggling their rotation to ensure the health of their starters.
‘‘We’re going to remain open-minded and flexible, and hopefully these are the five [starters] who stay healthy and strong and answer the call every fifth day,’’ general manager Rick Hahn said.
Montgomery’s streak ends
Shortstop Colson Montgomery’s streak of consecutive games of reaching base safely ended at 50 in High-A Winston-Salem’s 3-2 loss to Rome. Montgomery, the Sox’ first pick in the 2021 draft, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
This and that
High-A Winston-Salem outfielder Terrell Tatum was suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for the stimulant amphetamine in violation of the minor-league drug policy.
‘‘Unfortunate,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘Kid made a mistake. But he chose not to appeal and is going to serve his sentence.’’
• The Sox signed seven undrafted players to contracts, according to Baseball America. They are catcher Troy Claunch of Oregon State, right-handers Drew McDaniel of Mississippi and Kole Ramage of Arkansas, left-handers Ben Beutel of Iowa and Jonah Scolaro of Florida State, outfielder Chris Lanzilli of Arkansas and second baseman Matt Archer of UCF.
