LUCAS Giolito took a perfect game into the seventh inning and the Chicago White Sox used three home runs for a 4-1 victory over the host Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of their American League first-round playoff series on Tuesday.
Making his postseason debut, Giolito retired the first 18 batters he faced until Tommy La Stella lashed a single up the middle to lead off the seventh inning and break up the perfect-game bid.
Giolito (1-0), who threw a no-hitter against Pittsburgh on Aug. 25, became just the fifth pitcher in major league history to take a perfect game into the seventh inning of a postseason game. He wound up allowing one run on two hits in seven-plus innings. Giolito walked one and struck out eight.
Closer Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, closing a game in which the White Sox got solo homers from Adam Engel and Yasmani Grandal as well as a two-run shot from Jose Abreu.
In other games, it was the Yankees 12, Indians 3; Astros 4, Twins 1; Rays 3, Blue Jays 1.
