Alex Cora's Pitching Mismanagement Overshadowed Lucas Giolito's Impressive Return

[Maddie Landis]

Going into Tuesday night’s Red Sox game, the vibes were immaculate. The Red Sox dominated the Guardians and Blue Jays in the two previous games, scoring 23 combined runs. Between the rotation and the bullpen, their pitching looked sharp. Everything was finally falling into place.

After not pitching in over a year, Lucas Giolito debuted with the Red Sox. Alex, Adam, and I discussed Giolito’s start with some apprehension in our recent podcast episode. Much to everyone’s relief, Giolito coasted through five scoreless innings. His fastball reached a maximum of 96 mph and generated a 31.3% whiff rate. He brushed the strike zone’s corners masterfully with his changeup.

Surprisingly, Giolito remained on the mound for the sixth inning. Cora’s decision to keep Giolito in the game was questionable. After the fifth inning, he had thrown 66 pitches in his first major league game since October 1st, 2023. Usually, pitchers returning from rehab stints slowly acclimate to a full workload. Dozens of articles review the disadvantages of starting pitchers facing the batting order for the third time, and by the sixth inning, it was evident that Blue Jays’ hitters were acquainted with Giolito’s repertoire. The Blue Jays quickly cut the Red Sox's lead in half in two subsequent at-bats. Giolito yielded two home runs off his changeup: a two-run shot to Daulton Varsho, and a solo home run to Alejandro Kirk. 

Relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock took the mound in the seventh inning. This was another problematic decision by Cora. Like Giolito, Whitlock relies heavily on his changeup (22.7% usage in 2025). At their best, changeups are deceptive pitches, but if a batter recognizes one, the pitcher is punished for it. Whitlock and Giolito’s changeup pitch heat-maps overlap towards the bottom third of the zone. 

 

Whitlock allowed Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to reach base via singles. Anthony Santander launched yet another (very poorly located) changeup out of the park to tie the game. The Red Sox proceeded to lose the game in extra innings.

Alex Cora’s pitching mismanagement is responsible for that loss. After a strong start, Giolito was left in the game for too long. Cora escalated the situation further by bringing in Whitlock, another changeup-heavy pitcher, who blew the team’s lead. I understand Cora’s reluctance to put Justin Wilson, Liam Hendriks, or Greg Weissert in a higher-leverage situation, but he helped create one by keeping Giolito in the game. Keeping Whitlock available after Houck’s outing should’ve been on Cora’s radar. 

On the bright side, Giolito recorded a quality start in his Red Sox debut. Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello’s solid outings bode well for the team’s starting rotation. Garrett Crochet is an ace. Walker Buehler has two quality starts in his past two games. Sean Newcomb, friend of the Talk Sox Podcast, looks decent in the bullpen. 

Giolito and Whitlock were injured last year, so the opportunity never presented itself to have them pitch in back-to-back innings. Before Tuesday's game, Whitlock held a 1.72 ERA. Despite his bad outing, he remains a reliable bullpen arm. Going forward, Cora must consider how his starting pitchers’ repertoire compares to successive relief pitchers.

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