Lucas Giolito doesn't appear to have structural damage in elbow but unlikely to pitch in postseason

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NEW YORK (AP) — Lucas Giolito is relieved there is no structural damage to his right elbow but is devastated the injury will likely keep him from pitching for the Boston Red Sox in the postseason.

“I feel like I haven’t really processed it,” he said after Boston’s 3-1 win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the Wild-Card Series on Tuesday. “It’s happened very fast. It’s obviously been devastating."

Giolito said he began feeling discomfort around his start against the Athletics on Sept. 17 when he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings. The pain grew worse during a bullpen session as he prepared for possibly being needed to throw the last regular-season game against Detroit.

“There was no other thought in my mind to grind through and be available to throw as many quality innings as possible,” Giolito said. "Once I got to a point where it really started affecting throwing that’s when we had to address it.”

A 31-year-old right-hander, Giolito was left off Boston’s roster for the Wild Card Series against the Yankees because of elbow pain and was examined by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. Dugas repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Giolito’s right elbow with internal brace surgery on March 12 last year.

“From everything I am hearing there’s no structural damage, which is great, right? There’s a slim chance he can pitch,” manager Alex Cora said before Tuesday night’s series opener. “I think from a personal standpoint, those are good news for him, right? Kind of like hard to have surgery going into the offseason, all of that.”

Giolito returned to New York in time for pregame introductions and watched Garrett Crochet retire 17 straight in a sparkling 7 2/3 postseason performance. After Crochet’s career high 117th pitch reached 100 mph, Giolito gave the ace a bear hug in the dugout and the left-hander was replaced by Aroldis Chapman.

“The good news is that structurally everything was checked out, which I guess was a small relief in a very unfortunate situation,” Giolito said. “As it was described to me in layman’s terms, my flexor is very irritated and at this point it’s hard for me to describe. It’s like weird stuff going on with my bone. It’s one of those things I was told you got to stop throwing and let it calm down.”

An All-Star in 2019, Giolito was 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts this season. He also had Tommy John surgery with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Sept. 13, 2012 and missed all of last season after having an internal brace procedure performed on March 12, 2024 to repair his ulnar collateral ligament

Giolito is 71-66 with a 4.30 ERA in nine major league seasons.

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