Clevinger allows 2 HR in 1st MLB loss, White Sox top Indians
CHICAGO (AP) Cleveland Indians rookie Mike Clevinger threw all his pitches in a long at-bat against Brett Lawrie in the fifth inning.
The payoff pitch ended up down the middle, and Clevinger learned a tough lesson in his second big league start.
Lawrie broke a fifth-inning tie with a three-run homer, Todd Frazier hit his 14th of the season and the Chicago White Sox held on for a 7-6 victory Monday in the opener of a doubleheader.
''This one was on me,'' Clevinger said.
Austin Jackson added three hits and two RBIs, Mat Latos (6-1) allowed three runs over six innings and David Robertson pitched a hitless ninth for his 12th save in Chicago's second consecutive win.
Marlon Byrd's two-run homer in the fifth off Latos tied it at 3 a half-inning before Lawrie sent Clevinger's fastball into the left-field seats.
''I saw a bunch of pitches, sliders and curveballs, and it allowed me at 3-2 to get a fastball and I didn't miss it,'' Lawrie said.
Lawrie also singled and walked three times as Chicago produced 10 hits. Frazier's solo shot in the first was his second in two days and gave him the AL lead.
Clevinger (0-1) gave up seven hits over five innings in the makeup of an April 10 rainout.
''I felt like, especially with this offense scoring those runs, I was killing the momentum,'' he said.
Mike Napoli ended an 0-for-19 skid that included eight strikeouts in nine at-bats with a solo homer and an RBI groundout.
Jose Ramirez's two-run homer in the eighth off Matt Albers got the Indians within a run.
Rajai Davis led off the ninth with a walk and stole second on Byrd's strikeout. But Michael Martinez struck out and Carlos Santana grounded to second to send Cleveland to a third straight loss.
Both teams recalled pitchers from the minors to start the second game, with Cleveland's Cody Anderson facing Erik Johnson.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura tinkered with his lineup after Chicago scored 10 runs in its previous five games while its AL Central lead was cut to 2 1/2 games over Cleveland.
Jose Abreu hit fifth and four switch-hitters were in the lineup. Avisail Garcia didn't start for a third straight game, while Lawrie batted sixth.
Errors by Davis in center and second baseman Jason Kipnis along with Austin Adams' bases-loaded walk to Jackson produced an unearned run in the seventh that eventually sealed Clevinger's first major league loss.
''He made some costly mistakes over the middle,'' Indians manager Terry Francona said. ''Frazier's, Lawrie's were the biggest ones. Those were really costly runs. We were a little sloppy in the one inning that led to a tack-on run that ended up being the winning run.''
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: RHP Joba Chamberlain was placed on the disabled list with a strained chest muscle. LHP Ryan Merritt was recalled from Triple-A Columbus. ... RHP Carlos Carrasco (left hamstring) threw 50 pitches in three simulated innings Monday morning and is scheduled to make a three-inning appearance Friday at Class A Lake County. ... Francona said OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder) will begin swinging a bat Tuesday.
White Sox: 2B Carlos Sanchez, who went 0 for 5, was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after the first game to make room for Johnson. . RHP Tommy Kahnle was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte as the 26th player for the doubleheader.
NEEDED PRODUCTION
Frazier, acquired from Cincinnati in an offseason trade, has one more home run than all of Chicago's third basemen combined in 2015.
SO MANY GAMES
The opener was the Indians' 18,000th game. The second game marked the same milestone for the White Sox.
GOING DEEP
The Indians tied their season high with three home runs. It was Napoli's first since May 11 at Houston.
UP NEXT
The teams play single games the next two days, with White Sox ace Chris Sale (9-0, 1.58 ERA) seeking to become the majors' first 10-game winner Tuesday in a matchup of unbeaten pitchers. RHP Josh Tomlin (6-0, 3.56) is off to the best start for a Cleveland pitcher since Cliff Lee was 6-0 in 2008.