CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) – The healing process for Mike Clevinger has officially begun with the Cleveland Indians.
Clevinger toed the pitcher’s mound in the Indians 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday for the first time since Aug. 5. The 29-year-old violated team rules/protocols in Chicago Aug. 8 and is looking for redemption.
“It was my mistake and my mess up that cause a whirled wind for everybody for a little while,” Clevinger said. “It wasn’t my place to be everyone’s favorite sunshine and rock on. I’m walking on a tight rope right now as I should be. I want to show that I can contribute and not be a distraction.”
It didn’t take Clevinger long to realist the mistake he made back in Chicago. He took that mistake to heart when he saw the faces on his teammates.
“I saw the disappointment from the guys, and I don’t think I ever came something to be disappointed about,” Clevinger said. “They saw that in me that I was disappointed in myself, and I didn’t want to give them a reason to be disappointed in me. I didn’t want to be the first to make a selfish move, and I made a selfish move. That was a hard pill to swallow, and that was a selfish choice.”
With the trade deadline coming up on Aug. 31, Clevinger didn’t think Wednesday night was a showcase for him to be traded.
“I’m trying to win a ring, and I want to win a ring for the Tribe,” Clevinger said. “Until they tell me I can’t wear their uniform, I went to the World Series with this team when I was a rookie. This is the team I want to do that with. They only thing I’m thinking about is being a half-game out of the (American League) Central Division.”
Clevinger looked like a pitcher who hasn’t pitched in nearly two weeks. The right-hander gave up a solo home run to Max Kepler and an RBI single to LaMonte Wade Jr. in the second. Minnesota (20-12) took a 2-0 lead after two innings. Clevinger found his command from the third inning through the sixth. He finished the game by going six innings, gave up eight hits, two earned runs and had six strikeouts.
Tyler Naquin was the hero offensively for the Indians. He hit the go-ahead RBI double to left, scoring Carlos Santana, as the Indians took a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. Greg Allen added a sacrifice fly RBI to right field. In the next at-bat, Cesar Hernandez followed up with an RBI single to extend Cleveland’s lead to 6-3.
Cleveland (19-12) added three runs to the scoreboard in the third. Delino DeShields Jr. started the inning with a base hit, followed by a Hernandez walk. Jose Ramirez blasted a three-run home run – his sixth of the season – to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
The Indians are off Thursday and return to the diamond to start a weekend series against St. Louis. Triston McKenzie will make his second start of the year while the Cardinals to counter with right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-2, 5.25 ERA).
