Giolito gets Opening Day nod for White Sox

MESA, Ariz. -- Lucas Giolito officially was named the White Sox Opening Day starter by manager Tony La Russa prior to Monday’s Cactus League contest against the Cubs at Sloan Park.

Giolito will be making his third straight Opening Day start when he takes the mound Friday afternoon against the Tigers at Comerica Park. The last White Sox hurler to make at least three straight was Mark Buehrle from 2008-11 and the last White Sox right-hander to do the same was Jack McDowell from 1991-94.

“It feels really good,” Giolito said. “I’d say that I feel ready, prepared, excited for the opportunity.

“Once again, this is one of those things that I’ll never, ever take for granted. One of 30 guys around the league.”

The Opening Day honor for the White Sox basically was between Giolito and Lance Lynn. That battle was reduced to one when Lynn suffered a slight tear in one of the tendons near his right knee, sidelining him for approximately two months after he has surgery in Chicago on Tuesday.

That injury was acknowledged by Giolito, who said his Opening Day start was “under tough circumstances with Lance.” But this special trip to the mound also was something Giolito earned via his past White Sox work and his preparation coming into the 2022 season.

“It’s really been impressive,” La Russa said. “He came in ready to pitch. So, that’s kind of what you look for at the top of the rotation. Lance did the same thing. Taking responsibility, they are accountable, classic stuff. Very fortunate.”

“I’ve made a good amount of starts in this league now,” Giolito said. “Opening Day is always special. I’ll never, ever take that for granted. But I put a lot of work in this offseason, Spring Training. It’s hopefully one of 35-plus starts this year. Just go out and do my best, kick it off the right way.”

Dylan Cease originally was targeted for the White Sox home opener against the Mariners on April 12, per La Russa, but instead has been moved to Saturday afternoon's game in Detroit. Michael Kopech is slated for the series finale Sunday, with Dallas Keuchel in the mix for one of the three home games facing Seattle.

La Russa reinforced Monday his "win each day" approach espoused last week. So, if Vince Velasquez or Reynaldo López is set up for a start against Seattle but either one is needed in Detroit, then the White Sox will adjust.

“We don’t want to tie our hands down,” La Russa said. “I’m just making a point about flexibility … We have to get through those first couple of games.”

Lynn spoke Monday for the first time since suffering the injury pitching against the D-backs on Saturday night in Scottsdale. The right-hander felt a little pop upon delivery of the pitch and then a little burning sensation, knowing immediately something wasn’t right.

Right knee inflammation plagued Lynn in late August, sending him to the injured list. This more severe reaction and pain is in the same spot, per Lynn.

“Sounds like it was going to go eventually anyway, so better now than the middle of the season and then I’ll be ready for the playoffs,” Lynn said. “If we play our cards right, everything goes smoothly, and we get back in the middle of the season and make a run.

“Big thing is we get in there and get it fixed. Hopefully sometime in June or so I should be back if everything goes perfectly.”

Catcher Yasmani Grandal had similar surgery after suffering an injury during a swing in a game against the Twins at Target Field last season on July 5. He was out until Aug. 27 and produced a 1.154 OPS with nine home runs and 24 RBIs over the last 30 games.

Grandal and Lynn already have discussed the surgery and the recovery.

“I kind of just gave him a few pointers of what it was that I went through and what to expect,” Grandal said. “Things that worked for me, things that didn’t quite work. It’s not really that big of a surgery, but at the same time it’s in a spot where it’s an injury where you might not feel it on one move, and then all of a sudden you get extra confident in it and boom, you feel it right away.

“It’s definitely something that it’s so small you don’t really think about it until you feel it. Hopefully, he can recover as fast as I did and hopefully, we can have him back on the mound as soon as possible.”