FORT MYERS, Fla. — Almost everything went wrong for Lucas Giolito during his nightmarish second half last season, but one of the biggest contributors to his struggles was his fastball consistently failing him.
Getting Giolito’s fastball back on point has been a point of emphasis ever since he joined the Red Sox, and Sunday offered reason for encouragement as the 29-year-old shined in his club debut.
Giolito was excellent in his first outing of the spring, throwing two scoreless innings with no hits, a walk and a strikeout in Boston’s eventual 8-6 win over Minnesota. More importantly, Giolito’s fastball velocity was up, consistently hitting 95 mph after he averaged only 93 mph for the season in 2023.
“It’s showing me my body is working well down the mound. I’m not out there trying to throw really hard but it’s coming out pretty good,” said Giolito, who threw 18 strikes on 27 pitches. “Just continuing on that track, continuing to trust the work we put in each day to prepare and hopefully we continue to maintain that.”
“He was good, the fastball was good, the changeup was good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Obviously the walk he doesn’t want it, but he felt good.”
Prior to the game Cora indicated numerous Red Sox pitchers have seen their velocities tick up and that the work put in by new pitching coach Andrew Bailey and the club’s new pitching infrastructure has already started bearing fruit. Giolito praised Bailey and his group, saying they’ve helped him fine tune his slider and improve all of his offerings across the board.
“I think it’s been extraordinary so far, the whole team from Bales down, the communication is fantastic,” Giolito said. “We get all the information we need, any questions we have we go in there and we can break down video or mechanics or whatever, and then also keep it simple. There are always drills available to us to continue to hone things in, so I’m very excited to be here and be working with him.”
Beyond an active and engaged coaching staff, Giolito also acknowledged that he’s in a much better place personally this spring than he was late last summer. Amid a chaotic stretch that saw him traded from the White Sox to the Angels and then picked up off waivers by the Guardians as part of a last minute Los Angeles salary dump, Giolito fell into a bad funk and posted a ghastly 7.13 second half ERA.
Now, he’s much more comfortable and feels he’s been able to settle in with his new team.
“Absolutely, I feel very refreshed, I’m acclimating really well in this clubhouse,” Giolito said. “The guys have been fantastic, the coaching staff has been excellent. Just excited to be here and looking forward to building something great with these guys.”
Devers delivers
Many of Boston’s big league regulars made their spring debuts on Sunday, and Rafael Devers made sure his first impression was a good one. The two-time All-Star clubbed a towering opposite-field three-run home run over the JetBlue Park Monster, and he also made a brilliant charging barehanded play down the third base line to end the second inning.
Rafael Devers SMASHES his first #SpringTraining homer. 💥 pic.twitter.com/jDgSyt52oU
— MLB (@MLB) February 25, 2024
“I felt good, and most important I felt healthy, I was able to get in the box, see some pitches, I was able to see the ball well, I was able to play well in the field, but more importantly was able to stay healthy and still feel good.”
Devers’ home run was the highlight of a big five-run second inning in which the Red Sox starters batted around and pounded the Twins pitching staff. Trevor Story went 1 for 3 in his debut, Masataka Yoshida went 0 for 1 with a pair of walks, and Rob Refsnyder drove in two runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
Several of the club’s top prospects also had memorable days. First baseman Blaze Jordan went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored, outfielder Roman Anthony drew a pair of walks after working full counts and scored a run, and catcher Kyle Teel came off the bench and went 0 for 2 as a designated hitter.
“Good at bats, Blaze got two breaking balls in the zone and put two good swings on it, and Anthony 3-2 changeup and took his walks,” Cora said. “You can tell the approach is the right one, both of them. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish here as far as plate discipline.”
Left-hander Chris Murphy came on in relief of Giolito and threw two scoreless innings, and righties Greg Weissert and Wikelman Gonzalez came on and threw a scoreless inning each. All three had two strikeouts.
Minnesota wound up rallying against a series of Red Sox minor leaguers to tie the score late, but second baseman Nick Sogard gave Boston the lead for good with a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Brilliant Bello
While most of the Red Sox regulars got their work in at JetBlue Park, another contingent made the trip up to North Port to face the Atlanta Braves in the other half of Sunday’s split squad action. Brayan Bello made his first start of the season and was excellent, throwing two scoreless innings with no hits, a walk and three strikeouts in the Red Sox 5-4 win.
Ceddanne Rafaela had an encouraging showing leading off, going 1 for 2 with two walks, and Connor Wong went 2 for 3 with two RBI as the designated hitter in his first action working back from elbow soreness.
Zack Kelly threw a scoreless third inning with no hits and a walk against the Braves starting lineup, though Joe Jacques had a much more difficult time, allowing three runs on four hits in his inning, including a solo home run to Austin Riley.
Minor leaguer Tyler Miller drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth, scoring Karson Simas on an RBI groundout to break a 4-4 tie and give Boston the win.
Remembering Wake
Prior to Sunday’s home game the Red Sox held a nice tribute to the late Tim Wakefield, including a montage narrated by NESN’s Tom Caron and a moment of silence. The longtime Red Sox pitcher passed away at age 57 last October.
Next up
The Red Sox will be back at JetBlue Park on Monday to play the Philadelphia Phillies. That game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m.
