CLEVELAND —
Bibee might be peaking at the ideal time for a Cleveland club chasing Seattle for the final AL wild card. He entered the season as Cleveland’s ace but endured stretches of inconsistency, leading to a 4.69 ERA entering his 29th start.
He was plenty effective Friday, baffling a White Sox lineup that entered the day having won nine of its previous 11 games. His changeup worked early, setting the stage for his other pitches late.
“Finally,” he quipped. “Just the work that I’m putting each week between starts. … Obviously, it’s been an up-and-down year, but obviously it worked out today.”
He notched Cleveland’s first complete-game shutout since Sept. 10, 2019, when Zach Plesac accomplished the feat against the Los Angeles Angels.
Bibee allowed back-to-back singles in the third inning before escaping with an inning-ending double play. He retired 18 of the last 20 batters he faced, none bigger than Nolan Jones‘ diving catch on Lenyn Sosa‘s liner to right field for the final out.
Cleveland (76-71) has won seven of eight, including Bibee’s past two starts.
