The Chicago White Sox signed right-hander Mike Clevinger in the offseason with designs on bolstering the starting rotation.
So far, so good for the veteran, who is preparing to make his home debut against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
His unblemished record notwithstanding, Clevinger (2-0, 3.48 ERA) still will look to clean things up against the Orioles. After limiting Houston to three hits in five scoreless innings on April 2, Clevinger allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings at Pittsburgh on April 8 but still picked up the victory behind solid run support.
“It was a battle,” Clevinger said. “Kind of struggling to get the heater to drive straight. I was kind of leaking a little bit. Some really good defense behind me, and (catcher Yasmani Grandal) was working behind the plate.”
Clevinger also credited the Chicago bats, which produced 11 runs and 14 hits to rout the Pirates.
In the four games since, however, the White Sox have been outscored 11-8 while going 1-3. While the pitching largely has held up, the club’s offense and fielding have remained inconsistent.
“That’s the nature of the game, man,” White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “Not everything’s going to be firing on all cylinders at all times.”
With Yoan Moncada fighting back trouble, Hanser Alberto has played third base for Chicago for the past three games. The White Sox, who were off Thursday, are eligible to reinstate outfielder Eloy Jimenez (hamstring) from the injured list on Friday.
“He’s close. That can happen soon,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said.
Right-hander Tyler Wells (0-1, 3.27 ERA) is set to get the call for Baltimore in his third appearance and second start of the season. On Sunday, Wells lost a home start to the New York Yankees, giving up four runs and six hits — including two home runs — in six innings. He struck out six and has not walked a batter in 11 innings this season.
Baltimore recovered from Sunday’s defeat to take three of four from visiting Oakland this week. The Orioles punctuated the series with an 8-7 win on Thursday afternoon, as Adley Rutschman smacked a walk-off solo home run. It was the highly-touted Rutschman’s first game-ending homer in the majors.
“Honestly, I just kind of blacked out,” he said. “It’s one of those moments where you hit it and you just kind of start running because you don’t know what’s going on.”
Ryan Mountcastle also went deep for Baltimore. He delivered four home runs in the Athletics series and has six this season.
Outfielder Anthony Santander missed his second straight start with back issues, but Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Santander is feeling a lot better and was available as a bat off the bench.
Wells pitched in relief in his lone career appearance against the White Sox, taking the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) and one hit during a two-inning stint in Baltimore on July 11, 2021. Wells scattered one walk and four strikeouts.
Clevinger is 4-1 with a 3.69 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles, with 27 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media