CHICAGO _ Catching Lucas Giolito must be exhausting.
Watching him certainly is, at least at times. And Monday night was one of those times.
Giolito continued his "Wild Thing" routine, reclaiming the American League lead in walked batters. He issued four free passes over five-plus innings in the White Sox's 4-0 home loss to the Indians.
And it's not as if home-plate umpire Paul Nauert was an accessory. Giolito threw a pitch that sailed over catcher Kevan Smith's head and several more that almost did. He missed high, low, inside, outside. Of his 93 pitches, 46 went for strikes.
The game's best control pitches throw strikes more than two-thirds of the time.
Things were much better for the Sox at the plate, either. They managed just two hits against the Tribe.
Giolito had shown progress in his previous two starts, walking just two batters over a combined 12 innings and throwing 61.1 percent strikes.
"His last start was a step forward and the one before that a modest one," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said before the game. "We all saw in spring training and at the end of last season what he's capable of doing. It's in there. Just a matter of getting it back out."
A 23-year-old Californian with an ideal 6-foot-6, 245-pound frame, Giolito teased the Sox by posting a 2.38 ERA in seven starts last season from Aug. 22-Sept. 24. He averaged fewer than two walks per appearance.
But something has gone wrong with his delivery, and the result was a brutal fourth inning Monday.
With one out, he froze shortstop Francisco Lindor on a pitch that missed Smith's target but still caught the plate. Effectively wild.
But then he missed badly on a 3-2 fastball to first baseman Yonder Alonso, yelling to himself.
His first pitch to Melky Cabrera almost sailed to the backstop, and his 3-1 pitch missed by three feet. Wild.
He got unlucky on an inside fastball to right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who flared one into shallow center for a run-scoring single. Then catcher Yan Gomes lined a double into left, giving Cleveland a 3-0 lead.
After Giolito induced an inning-ending groundout, he walked off the mound with his glove pressed against his mouth. He appeared to be muttering to himself.
Last month in Pittsburgh, Giolito said he would not be able to fix his mechanical issues during bullpen sessions between starts: "It's stuff I need to fix in the gym. Movement patterns. Rebuild athleticism that I've lost. I can work on my delivery all day outside but when you get in the heat of the moment, in the game, your body will go to default mode. For me it's getting the gym, working on mobility and other things and then I don't have to worry about it when I'm throwing."
Giolito's ERA rose a tick, from 7.08 to 7.09, the highest in the AL.
The Sox seem to feel that it's best to keep Giolito in the big leagues, to let him vie for progress under the tutelage of pitching coach Don Cooper.
"When you're dealing with young players, you try to take the holistic approach with their development," Hahn said. "Fundamentally the first step is dealing with mechanical issues. You (also) need to make sure they're unclogged between the ears."
