White Sox’s Mike Clevinger delivers a pitch in the first inning of a game against the Red Sox, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Boston. (AP)
AP Photos
BOSTON — A steady drizzle and rain did nothing to dampen Mike Clevinger’s strong finish to the 2023 season.
Clevinger was sharp again Sunday, doing his best to put the Sox in position to win a series for the first time since Aug 7-9 and avoid 100 losses with six innings of two-run ball against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Clevinger’s day was done after rain delayed the game with the Sox leading the Red Sox 3-2 after six innings.
For the fifth straight start, Clevinger did not walk a batter, the longest streak for a Sox pitcher since LaMarr Hoyt had six straight games with no bases on balls in 1983.
Clevinger did not strike out a batter, but held the Red Sox to five hits. He was coming off a complete game against the Nationals Monday in which he allowed one run. The last Sox pitcher to throw two straight complete games was Lucas Giolito in 2019. One of those was rain-shortened to five innings.
Clevinger owns a 2.91 ERA over his last 13 starts and a 3.41 ERA this season.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus’ double in the fifth against Kutter Crawford scored Gavin Sheets and Korey Lee, and Sheets’ sacrifice fly in the sixth scored Eloy Jimenez. Clevinger gave up a homer over the Green Monster in left field to Adam Duvall in the sixth on on 0-2 count with two outs, cutting the White Sox’ lead to 3-2.
That’s when the umpires called for the tarp to cover an infield that was collecting moisture since the first pitch.
The Sox were 0-10-2 in their last 11 series. A win Sunday means the Sox, at 60-96, would have to split their last six games of the season, all at home this week against the Diamondbacks and Padres.
Right-hander Jesse Scholtens, who made 11 starts while posting a 1-9 record and 5.29 ERA, won’t make his final start of the season after landing on the injured list with a left calf strain.
Scholtens hurt his calf running sprints in the Fenway Park outfield before the Sox’ game against the Red Sox Saturday.
Righty Declan Cronin, who made six relief appearances for the Sox over two stints this season — allowing 10 runs in 7 2⁄3 innings — returns from Charlotte for the last six games of the season. Cronin, who had been on the injured list with blister problems, will pitch out of the bullpen. At Charlotte, he was 3-0 with a 3.83 ERA with two saves in 51 2/2 innings.’
Manager Pedro Grifol did not say who would take Scholtens’ turn in the rotation Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.
“We’ll fill it from somebody in here and somebody will get a good opportunity to show us what they got,” Grifol said.
This was the first season in the majors for Scholtens, 29, who along with Touki Toussaint (4-6, 5.11 starts) filled gaps in the rotation following the trades of starters Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. Toussaint made 15 starters, posting a 5.63 ERA in those.
“We used [Scholtens] out of the pen where he didn’t have much experience, we threw him three out of four days, started him, put him back in the pen,” Grifol said. “Sent him to Triple-A, he came back. He had a good year for us.”
*Sheets notched the first stolen base of his career.
*With his 11-strikeout performance Saturday, Dylan Cease joined Gerrit Cole and Kevin Gausman as the only pitchers to strike out 200-plus batters in each of the last three seasons.
*Luis Robert Jr.’s 27 solo homers broke Albert Belle’s club record set in 1988, when Belle hit 48 homers.
