Lucas Giolito didn’t let Sunday’s atypical schedule derail him on Sunday.
The Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep over the Houston Astros with a 6-1 victory. In a game that started at 11:35 a.m. ET, Giolito allowed three hits and one run over a season-high eight innings.
After the game, courtesy of NESN’s coverage, Giolito admitted that he’s not a morning person despite the strong performance.
“It’s not very fun,” Giolito said. “Ever since I was a kid, I would stay up super late reading, and then it turned into super late playing video games. And I’ve just done that ever since. My excuse is, I like to say I prime myself for 7 p.m. being my locked-in hours. But obviously you have to make an adjustment for a day like today.”
Giolito tweaked his sleep schedule throughout the week in preparation for Sunday’s earlier start time. He went to bed yesterday at around midnight, “very early” for the 31-year-old, and woke up at around 8 a.m.
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“I’d say it’s more important waking up earlier,” Giolito added. “Getting yourself up, getting outside, moving around. And it kind of puts you in a better position where, when I woke up this morning, I wasn’t horribly groggy.”
Sunday wasn’t the first recent shake-up to Giolito’s routine. The right-hander struggled in his first two starts back from the All-Star break, so he didn’t want his turn delayed when the Red Sox pushed back Garrett Crochet. Even if it meant getting extra sleep.
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“I really hate it,” Giolito said of his nine days in between starts during the break. “I’ve always been a proponent of canceling the All-Star break. That’s never going to happen, but I like pitching every fifth day … I’ve always preferred pitching every fifth day, so when I was presented with the opportunity to skip the morning game and pitch a few games later or pitch the morning game — as much as I don’t like mornings, I’m gonna take the morning game.”
Giolito’s aversion to mornings became apparent four years ago when the Red Sox tagged the then-Chicago White Sox starter for eight runs on Patriots’ Day. He’s made the proper adjustments, tossing a gem in another earlier start time on July 4.
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Giolito has conquered mornings, but he now must handle a different time zone for a road start against the San Diego Padres next weekend.
Featured image via John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images
