Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito's long-awaited return to Major League Baseball lasted only one inning before the team was forced to pull him from his first spring training game with left hamstring tightness.

Giolito started Boston's contest on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks before his day ended prematurely. He threw only 10 of his 24 pitches for strikes.

The veteran righty signed with the Red Sox in January 2024 but did not appear in a game last season. Now recovered from internal brace surgery on his right elbow, Giolito has a chance to pitch himself into the Red Sox' rotation plans. The Red Sox have not yet revealed how severe they think the injury to be, but we will no doubt find out more after the game.

If Giolito is, in fact, able to get through this setback relatively unscathed, he will have a chance to prove he is still the pitcher that collected Cy Young votes for the Chicago White Sox three years in a row from 2019 to 2021.

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His final season in Chicago, however, did not go as planned. In 30 starts, he went 11-9 with a 4.90 ERA. He followed that up in 2023 by leading the league in home runs allowed (41) as the White Sox dealt him to the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline. The Cleveland Guardians selected him off waivers a month later, where he appeared in six games and had a 7.04 ERA.

The Red Sox took a chance on him that offseason, giving him $19 million with a $14 million player option for 2025.

“Last year definitely had its ups and downs, challenges mentally and emotionally,” Giolito told The Athletic in January. “Being away from the game like that was super tough, but it gave me that motivation to put the work in and do everything I can to put myself in the best position for success this year. I’m really looking forward to it and putting this uniform on and stepping on the mound of Fenway for the first time. It’s gonna be a special moment.”