Lucas Giolito Makes Unwanted MLB History Not Seen Since 1899

Giolito recorded some unfortunate history during his Guardians debut.

Guardians starting pitcher Lucas Giolito had a disastrous outing Monday against the Twins, surrendering nine earned runs across just three innings of work.

In doing so, Giolito achieved an extremely rare and unfortunate feat, becoming the first player since 1899 to surrender eight earned runs in a start for three different teams in the same season, according to OptaSTATS.  

The 29-year-old landed in Cleveland after being included in the mass exodus of waivers by the Angels. Anaheim had only acquired Giolito from the White Sox at the MLB trade deadline. Stunningly, Giolito surrendered eight or more runs in a start for all three organizations.

All three of those starts have occurred since July 18, when Giolito was shelled for eight runs against the Mets in his second to last start for Chicago. On Aug. 2, as a member of the Angels, he surrendered nine runs against the Braves. 

The last time a player pulled that off was Bill Magee, 124 years ago, when he pitched for the Louisville Colonels, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators during the 1899 campaign.

Monday’s game was Giolito’s debut for the Guardians. He’s now surrendered three or more runs in six of his last seven starts. Following Monday’s outing, his season ERA ballooned from 4.45 to 4.88.

Cleveland ended up losing the game 20–6, with catcher David Fry throwing four innings and 64 pitches in relief.