The Red Sox have taken a lot of tough losses this season, so winning a game like this, that they probably didn’t deserve to, is a nice turnaround. They outhit the Rays 7-3 even though the Rays had eight more hard-hit balls (14-6) and a .312 xBA, compared to .162 for Boston. Giolito benefited from an out on a Christopher Morel fly to the triangle that had a .910 xBA and would have been a homer in 17 ballparks. Later, Brandon Lowe flew out to right against Garrett Whitlock on a ball that would have been a homer in 24 parks. The outing lowered Giolito’s ERA from 6.42 to 5.45. Still, eight hard-hit balls, three walks and four strikeouts is nothing to write home about. He’ll likely again dodge the Yankees this weekend and make his next start Monday in Seattle.

Giolito’s 43 pitches today produced nine hard-hit balls and one missed swing. There just isn’t anything here to be encouraged about. In his best years, Giolito struck out over 32 percent of the batters he faced in 2019 and 2020. That was down to 25-26 percent while he was finishing with ERAs in the high-4.00s in 2022 and ’23. Right now, he’s at 18 percent with his current 6.42 ERA. Given that he’s never been very good about limiting homers or walks, there’s no way he’s going to succeed while missing so few bats, and while there’s hope his slider and changeup will get a little better with more reps, he’s probably not regaining any additional velocity, since he’s already back to where he was in the two seasons before he got hurt. The Red Sox won’t move on yet, but they might benefit from doing so. Giolito is due to make his next start against the Rays.

The bases were empty when Giolito was pulled in the fifth, but Alex Cora decided against letting him face Matt Olson for a third time. It’s kind of hard to blame him: Including his 1-for-2 tonight, Olson is 8-for-11 with four homers in 14 career plate appearances against Giolito. The move cost Giolito a chance at a win, but the Red Sox did prevail in the end. Giolito, currently 1-1 with a 4.78 ERA in six starts, will get the Angels next.

Giolito came up big with the Red Sox wanting a long outing after Hunter Dobbins’ four-inning effort in the first game. He struck out six and walked two while throwing 99 pitches. It’s Giolito’s third quality start in five outings for Boston, though since he gave up six runs apiece in the other two, his ERA stands at 5.27. He’ll likely make his next start Friday or Saturday in Atlanta.