Lucas Giolito looks in playoff form with 6 shutout innings in the Chicago White Sox’s 5-2 win vs. the Cleveland Indians

CLEVELAND — Pitching coach Ethan Katz visited Lucas Giolito during the sixth inning Sunday at Progressive Field.

The Chicago White Sox starter had just allowed a walk, giving the Cleveland Indians runners on first and second with two outs.

“I wanted to make sure when Ethan came out there that it wasn’t just a stall to get me out of there,” Giolito said. “But he assured me that was my guy.”

Giolito locked back in after the brief chat and got Owen Miller to line out to second baseman Leury García to end the inning. Giolito slapped his glove as he walked off the mound after getting out of the jam.

Giolito looked playoff-ready Sunday, allowing five hits and one walk and striking out six in six shutout innings in a 5-2 victory in front of 21,957.

“Putting heavy emphasis on finishing strong and being prepared going into the playoffs,” Giolito said. “So today, getting more important work with Yaz (catcher Yasmani Grandal) and just tried to put together a good start. I wanted to go at least six innings. So we accomplished those goals.”

Giolito said he used his entire pitch mix.

“A credit to (Grandal) there,” Giolito said. “He really called the right pitches when we needed them that weren’t necessarily part of my usual plan. Throwing sliders behind in the count, 3-2 sliders, things like that where we were able to stay really competitive and limit the walks.”

It’s not clear what the Sox rotation will look like in the division series, but Giolito (11-9) is making a case to start Game 1.

“We’re talking about who starts what games — the fact is you need to win three games (in the divisional round),” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “But it hasn’t been just lately that Lucas has been sharp. We must’ve mugged three or four leads from him when he left.

“His record right now, he should have 14, 15 wins easy. My point is he’s been good all year. And every once in a while, he has a tough start, that happens. But this isn’t just recently that he’s been a good pitcher for us, an outstanding pitcher.”

The rotation for the final week of the regular season has Dallas Keuchel starting Monday’s makeup game in Detroit, Reynaldo López for Tuesday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds at Guaranteed Rate Field and Carlos Rodón the probable starter for Wednesday. Rodón last pitched Sept. 20 in Detroit, exiting after three innings with what he described as “normal soreness.”

Lance Lynn and Giolito will start in an undetermined order Friday and Saturday, while Dylan Cease is in line for the regular-season finale Sunday at home against the Tigers.

Cease is getting a little more time as he recovers from a bruised right triceps after being hit by Bradley Zimmer’s hard grounder back to the mound Friday.

“I have a ton of confidence because I know that Lance is Lance — he’s going to do his thing no matter what,” Giolito said. “Dylan, just hit the meat of his triceps, so it’s just a bruise, he’s going to be just fine. I know Carlos is coming along pretty well. I think he’ll be pitching this week.

“I’m feeling pretty good about it, and obviously we have Dallas going (Monday) and we also have Lopey, who has been fantastic this year. I’m liking where our starting pitching is at.”

La Russa liked what he saw from the team as a whole after Saturday’s 6-0 loss. The Sox had three hits Saturday and bounced back with 13 Sunday.

Grandal had three hits and one RBI. Eloy Jiménez had a two-run single. Tim Anderson and Billy Hamilton executed a double steal in the eighth, with Anderson getting in a rundown between first and second, allowing Hamilton to swipe home.

“We talked a little bit about it before the game with a couple of the guys: It’s a long road trip at the end of the year,” La Russa said. “We had the high of the clinch (Thursday). And (Saturday), we were back on our heels. We can’t maintain our edge that way.

“So today, you saw everybody out there, a lot of energy and good, live actions, making plays, getting base hits. These guys are men, not machines. Once in a while, you have a game that you need to address, and we addressed it really well.”

As for Giolito, La Russa liked “the whole thing.”

“Just look at composure, repeat the delivery, he had all his pitches,” La Russa said. “It was really hard for them to get on anything because in any count, he may have something different. That’s the mark of an outstanding starting pitcher.

“You can see him one at-bat, and then the next time, he starts you with something different, he finishes with something different. He made a lot of quality pitches.”

Brian Goodwin goes on injured list

Before the game, the Sox placed outfielder Brian Goodwin on the 10-day injured list with lower back spasms. The move is retroactive to Friday.

Goodwin is hitting .221 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 72 games (64 starts). His status for the playoff roster is undetermined.

“What he’s done for us isn’t going to be forgotten,” La Russa said before the game. “So it’s a question of how game-ready he can be because of this. And then what the makeup of the position-player roster is. Wait until you get all the information.”