NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito will miss the AL Wild Card Series because of an injured elbow.
A 31-year-old right-hander, Giolito had been expected to start the third game of the best-of-three series on Thursday, following Garrett Crochet (18-5) and Brayan Bello (11-9) in Boston's rotation.
“It’s a big blow," Crochet said. “He’s a great arm and I think that he strikes fear in opposing lineups.”
Giolito went to be 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.
“He’s been battling with his elbow the last few days, and today he went to see Dr. Dugas," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday. ”Hopefully it’s nothing major, but he won’t be ready for this one."
Left-handers Connelly Early (1-2) and Kyle Harrison, who was 1-1 with San Francisco before being traded to Boston, are candidates to start a Game 3.
New York starts left-handers Max Fried (19-5) and Carlos Rodón (18-9) in the first two games, followed by rookie Cam Schlittler (4-3).
Giolito's average fastball velocity dropped steadily in the final month of the regular season, from 93.9 mph on Aug. 26 at Arizona to 92.1 mph in his final start at Toronto on Sept. 23. He was 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in four September starts after going 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six August appearances.
“I believe he was fighting it. He was going to throw a bullpen during the week, and we had to cut it short," Cora said. “After Saturday, Sunday, he didn’t look too good, especially yesterday.”
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.
An All-Star in 2019, Giolito is 71-66 with a 4.30 ERA in nine major league seasons with Washington (2016), the Chicago White Sox (2017-23), the Los Angeles Angels (2023), Cleveland (2023) and Boston (2025).
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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito hands over the ball after being pulled in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito reacts after striking out Athletics Lawrence Butler with bases loaded in the third inning in of a baseball game against the Athletics, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, saying they are home to infrastructure for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
The strikes came a few days before Lebanon’s army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel.
The strikes took place nearly two hours after Israel’s military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted warnings on X that the military would strike targets for Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas groups in two villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and two others in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a home struck in the village of Manara in the Bekaa Valley belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024.
The Lebanese army last year began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups while the government has said that by the end of 2025 all the areas close to the border with Israel — known as the south Litani area — will be clear of Hezbollah’s armed presence.
The Lebanese government is scheduled to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament during a meeting Thursday that will be attended by army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
Monday’s airstrikes were in villages north of the Litani river and far from the border with Israel.
The disarmament of Hezbollah and other Palestinian groups by the Lebanese government came after a 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah in which much of the political and military leadership of the Iran-backed group was killed.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September 2024 that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
The war ended in November 2024 with a ceasefire brokered by the U.S.
Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since then, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but also killing 127 civilians, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a drone strike on a car in the southern village of Braikeh earlier Monday wounded two people. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hezbollah members.
Lebanese fire fighter extinguish a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Rescue workers search for possible victims in a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Lebanese Red Cross volunteers search for possible victims in a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
