Clevinger Had Nervous Energy In Debut

CLEVELAND—Righthander Mike Clevinger’s major league debut was, in his own words, “fun, indescribable, something I won’t forget.”

It was also a little messy.

Asked if he was nervous or composed prior to the game, Clevinger said: “Thirty minutes of puking from nerves got me really composed.”

The 25-year-old’s debut in Cincinnati on May 18 was a mixed bag. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits, with five strikeouts and one walk.

In his seven starts at Triple-A Columbus prior to his callup, Clevinger went 5-0, 3.03 with 36 strikeouts and 36 innings.

“It’s pretty exciting,” big league manager Terry Francona said. “Everyone is talking about him. There’s a lot to like about this kid.”

The Indians acquired Clevinger from the Angels in a trade for reliever Vinnie Pestano in August 2014. He had a breakout season at Double-A Akron in 2015, recording a 2.73 ERA in 27 appearances. He struck out 145 in 158 innings and paced the Eastern League with a .219 opponent average.

Clevinger, an Angels fourth-round pick in 2011 from Seminole State (Fla.) JC, joined Columbus for the 2015 postseason and logged 15 1/3 scoreless innings.

When the Indians demoted struggling righthander Cody Anderson to Columbus in mid-May, they called up Clevinger to assume his spot in the rotation.

“A kid with that kind of (mid-90s) velocity, and with that kind of breaking ball, it’s a neat story for our organization,” Francona said.

“He was good. He followed the game plan and kept his composure,” Francona said. “That’s major league stuff, and he’s only going to get better with experience.”

There was only one hiccup prior to the game.

“He went to the wrong bullpen to warmup,” Francona said, “but he kind of laughed and said, ‘I was just checking it out.’ ”

SMOKE SIGNALS

• Anderson, who recorded a 3.05 ERA in 15 second-half starts in 2015, was optioned to Columbus on May 17 after running up a 7.99 ERA with 10 homers allowed in 30 innings.

• Also demoted to Columbus in mid-May was center fielder Tyler Naquin, who in 27 games was holding his own offensively, hitting .317/.338/.413, but struggling defensively.