NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito will miss the AL Wild Card Series because of an injured elbow.
A 31-year-old right-hander, Giolito had been expected to start the third game of the best-of-three series on Thursday, following Garrett Crochet (18-5) and Brayan Bello (11-9) in Boston’s rotation.
“It’s a big blow,” Crochet said. “He’s a great arm and I think that he strikes fear in opposing lineups.”
Giolito went to be examined by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. Dugas repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Giolito’s right elbow with internal brace surgery on March 12 last year.
“He’s been battling with his elbow the last few days, and today he went to see Dr. Dugas,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday. ”Hopefully it’s nothing major, but he won’t be ready for this one.”
Left-handers Connelly Early (1-2) and Kyle Harrison, who was 1-1 with San Francisco before being traded to Boston, are candidates to start a Game 3.
New York starts left-handers Max Fried (19-5) and Carlos Rodón (18-9) in the first two games, followed by rookie Cam Schlittler (4-3).
Giolito’s average fastball velocity dropped steadily in the final month of the regular season, from 93.9 mph on Aug. 26 at Arizona to 92.1 mph in his final start at Toronto on Sept. 23. He was 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in four September starts after going 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six August appearances.
“I believe he was fighting it. He was going to throw a bullpen during the week, and we had to cut it short,” Cora said. “After Saturday, Sunday, he didn’t look too good, especially yesterday.”
Giolito was 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts this season. He also had Tommy John surgery with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Sept. 13, 2012.
An All-Star in 2019, Giolito is 71-66 with a 4.30 ERA in nine major league seasons with Washington (2016), the Chicago White Sox (2017-23), the Los Angeles Angels (2023), Cleveland (2023) and Boston (2025).
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