It’s been a while since a White Sox pitcher looked dominant. And, if we are nearing the end of Clevinger’s White Sox career, he’s certainly leaving it all on the table.
Clevinger was able to do what no White Sox pitcher has been able to do since Dylan Cease last season: throw a complete game. He was just one strike away from achieving a complete game shutout (more on this in a bit), but Clevinger and the White Sox will certainly take a one-run complete game.
Clevinger was strong all night, hitting as high as 96 mph on the gun while getting 13 whiffs on the night. His only damage came in the ninth inning when things got interesting. Dom Smith ended Clevinger’s complete game shutout bid with a long home run, and Clevinger took umbrage at the amount of time it took Smith to get around the bases.
All’s well that ends well, however.
On the offensive side, the White Sox hammered out 15 hits, including a four-hit night by Tim Anderson at the top of the lineup. Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, and Andrew Vaughn all turned in multi-hit games, with Robert leaving the yard on the evening.
With the victory, the White Sox improve to 58-93.
W: Mike Clevinger (8-8) | L: Joan Adon (2-3)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
- Top 5th: Luis Robert Jr. homers (36) to left center. Tim Anderon, Andrew Benintendi score. 3-0 White Sox.
- Top 6th: Andrew Vaughn singles to right field. Yoan Moncada scores. 4-0 White Sox.
- Top 6th: Elvis Andrus singles to center field. Andrew Vaughn scores. 5-0 White Sox.
- Top 6th: Andrew Benintendi singles to right field. Elvis Andrus scores. 6-0 White Sox.
Notable Performances
Mike Clevinger: 9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Clevinger lowered his season ERA to 3.42 on the season, by far the lowest among all White Sox starters. The club could be facing an interesting decision on whether or not to bring Clevinger back – though he does have a mutual option.
Luis Robert Jr: 1-for-3, HR (36), 3 RBI, 3 K
Robert Jr. continued his insane season tonight, creeping ever closer to 40 homers on the season.
Tim Anderson: 4-for-5, R, K
Anderson has slowly been pulling himself out of the pits of an awful stretch, and he is now hitting close to .300 since the All-Star Break.
Andrew Vaughn: 2-for-4, RBI, R, BB
Vaughn has been under much scrutiny this season but brought his average up to .260 on the season with a .751 OPS.
Next Matchup
After taking the first game of the series in Washington, the White Sox will go for their second victory in as many games tomorrow. Jose Urena will face off against Jackson Rutledge.
The game will begin at 6:05 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
I would like to think that the above performance by both Clevinger and the offense shows that the White Sox are not simply playing out the schedule. They should still play out of a sense of pride and with a feeling of looking ahead to next year!