HOUSTON — White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn will start Game 1 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park Thursday, manager Tony La Russa said. Lynn will be opposed by Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr.
Lucas Giolito will get the start in Game 2.
Lynn (11-6, 2.69 ERA) snapped a nine-start winless streak, earning his 11th victory of the season and first since July 25 at Milwaukee with five innings of one-run ball Friday in a 10-1 win over the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
While Lynn was at his best at home this season, going 7-3 with a 2.56 ERA over 17 starts at Guaranteed Rate Field and posting the lowest ERA by a White Sox since Chris Sale (2.36) in 2014, he wasn’t bad at on the road, either, going 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 11 starts.
The Astros have had recent success against Lynn, who is 5-7 with a 4.41 ERA in 14 appearances (13 starts) against them in his career. He allowed six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six in four innings in one of his worst starts this season at Minute Maid Park on June 19, and the Astros clobbered him to the tune of 15 earned runs on 20 hits including five home runs over 11 2/3 innings as a Texas Ranger in 2020.
Giolito (11-9, 3.53 ERA) was 4-3 with a 2.65 ERA in the second half, and he finished with his second career 200-strikeout season, becoming the sixth pitcher in club history to record 200-plus strikeouts in multiple seasons. On the road, he was 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA.
Giolito pitched five innings of one-run ball in his last start in a 5-4 Sox win over the Tigers Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
