WASHINGTON — An excellent start from the starting pitcher and a three-run homer from the star outfielder.
A four-hit game from the shortstop.
And no walks from said starter, Mike Clevinger.
Such winning formulas have been rare for the 2023 White Sox, but they concocted one Monday for a 6-1 victory over the Nationals to get their final road trip of a painfully long season on a victorious note.
Clevinger (8-8) was one out away from a complete game shutout when Dominic Smith homered to give the Nationals their run. He allowed six hits, striking out seven and issuing no bases on balls for the fourth straight start. He lowered his ERA to 3.38.
Clevinger threw 109 pitches was talking to Smith while Smith rounded the bases after the home run, prompting both benches and bullpens to empty. There were no punches thrown.
Center fielder Luis Robert hit a three-run homer and shortstop Tim Anderson had four singles to notch the 16th four-hit game of his career.
The Sox are 58-98. The Nationals are 66-85.
Changes inevitable
The roster for 2024 will look different and the coaching staff most certainly will, too, after this debacle of a season, although to what extent is not yet known.
“We’re not there yet,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “Everybody is being evaluated by a new general manager [Chris Getz]. That’s me included. I know that he said I’m coming back but you’re still getting evaluated. And he is, too. We all are.
“We should be. We know we have to change things. Not necessarily make changes but do things differently. And play a different way and do it different. Can’t get too deep into all of it but we know what we have to do to put something on the field that is going to compete for what we want to be.”
Rubber-arm man
Bryan Shaw (12 2⁄3 innings over 10 games) and Tanner Banks (10 2⁄3 over seven games) both owned scoreless streaks entering Monday, but Banks had a ways to go to catch Shaw’s 783 career appearances, which ranks third among active pitchers and is in 61st place in history with 783 career games.
Shaw’s bounce-back strengths are a cut above, even at age 35.
“I am definitely different,” Shaw said. “But the rubber arm, allows me to be available to pitch. I was available [Sunday] for a third day in a row. We get a break in two weeks, so might as well keep throwing until the season ends.”
This and that
Robert broke an 0-for-18 slump with a three-run homer against right-hander Jose Adon to break a 0-0 tie. Robert, who 36 homers, had not homered since Aug. 30 at Baltimore.
*Anderson (4-for-5) has seven hits in his last two games, raising his average to 251. He is batting .293 in the second half.
*Yoan Moncada hit his 18th and 19th doubles of the season. In his last 34 games, Moncada owns a .314/.349/.536 hitting line with an .887 OPS.