More than 15 months after signing a free-agent deal with the Red Sox, right-hander Lucas Giolito looked sharp in his long-awaited Boston debut.

The road to get back to a Major League mound was, as Lucas Giolito put it, long and arduous. But as his strong return on Wednesday night demonstrated, it has a chance to be highly rewarding.

Giolito cruised through five innings before running into trouble with two-outs in the sixth, turning a positive game into a disappointment.