Mike Clevinger pitched a six-hitter for his third career complete game, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Monday night.
Luis Robert Jr. hit a three-run homer for Chicago, which improved to 5-12 in September. Tim Anderson had four of the team’s 15 hits.
Clevinger was working on a shutout before Dominic Smith hit his 10th homer with two out in the ninth inning. Smith walked slowly to first while watching the shot to right-center, and then flipped his bat.
Clevinger (8-8) apparently took exception and exchanged words with Smith, prompting benches to clear in an incident that didn’t escalate beyond shouting. Clevinger then struck out Carter Kieboom for the final out.
Washington was eliminated from postseason contention with the loss. The Nationals, who have dropped six of seven and 16 of 21, have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons since winning the World Series in 2019.
Clevinger struck out seven and walked none. The 32-year-old right-hander retired 17 of 18 in one stretch.
Clevinger has a 2.71 ERA in 13 starts since June 1. He is 2-2 with a 1.64 ERA in six road starts in that span.
