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Cleavinger earned a save against the Red Sox on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work. Cleavinger threw 15 of 19 pitches for strikes and recorded multiple punchouts for the first time since Aug. 14. The save was his second of September and his sixth overall this season. The last three Rays saves have been claimed by three different relievers, so it's clear that the team prefers a committee approach to the closer role.
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Cleavinger earned the save in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Twins, retiring the lone batter he faced in the ninth inning. Edwin Uceta originally got the call in the ninth inning, but he allowed a pair of singles to put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. Cleavinger was then called upon with two outs to face Christian Vazquez, who he'd retire on just two pitches. It's the fifth save this year for Cleavinger, who had allowed five runs over his last three appearances (2.2 innings) coming into Tuesday. While Uceta and Manuel Rodriguez have been the Rays' top ninth-inning options in the absence of Pete Fairbanks (lat), the left-handed Cleavinger could see the occasional matchup-dependent save opportunity going forward.
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Cleavinger picked up the save in Saturday's extra-inning win over the Dodgers, surrendering one unearned run over one inning while not allowing any hits or walks. Cleavinger got the call with a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th and retired Shohei Ohtani in the first at-bat via a flyout, though Miguel Rojas was able to advance to third after tagging up. The left-handed reliever would then see Rojas come home on a sacrifice fly from Mookie Betts before getting Freddie Freeman to ground out for the final out of the contest. It marked Cleavinger's fourth save of the campaign and his first since May 18 against Toronto. He still appears to be third in line for save opportunities with Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list due to a lat strain, behind Manuel Rodriguez, who got the win Saturday, and Edwin Uceta.
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Cleavinger (7-2) struck out one without allowing a baserunner in a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win Sunday against the Reds. Cleavinger entered with the Rays down 1-0 in the eighth inning and turned in his fifth consecutive clean outing. He's also picked up two wins in that span and should be locked into a high-leverage relief role after the departure of Jason Adam.
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Cleavinger struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his third save of the season in a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays. Pete Fairbanks had pitched three of the prior four days and Jason Adam worked the eighth inning Saturday to collect his 10th hold, so closing duties fell to Cleavinger. The southpaw didn't disappoint, firing 11 of 14 pitches for strikes as he dispatched Toronto's 8-9-1 hitters. Cleavinger is the top lefty in the Tampa Bay bullpen, which will likely lead to other save chances as matchups dictate, but Fairbanks remains the primary high-leverage option for manager Kevin Cash. Through 18.2 innings this season, Cleavinger sports a 1.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 29:12 K:BB.
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Stats
| Year | Team | APP | GS | INN | W | L | S | K | BBI | HA | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | TB | 68 | 0 | 60.0 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 71 | 31 | 52 | 3.75 | 1.38 |
| 2023 | TB | 15 | 0 | 12.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 3.00 | 1.00 |
| 2022 | LAD-TB | 17 | 0 | 23.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 7 | 14 | 3.91 | 0.91 |
Last 7 Games
| DATE | Opp | W | L | S | INN | HA | ERA | BBI | K | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | @  |
- | 1 | - | 1.0 | 2 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 9/21 | vs  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 6.75 | 1 | 1 | 2.00 |
| 9/19 | vs  |
- | - | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| 9/17 | vs |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 9.00 | 0 | 2 | 1.00 |
| 9/12 | @  |
- | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 |
| 9/09 | @  |
- | 1 | - | 0.1 | 3 | 0.00 | 1 | 1 | 12.00 |
| 9/08 | @  |
- | - | - | 0.1 | 1 | 0.00 | 1 | 1 | 6.00 |