Carson Fulmer goes out with five solid innings, win vs. Indians

Carson Fulmer delivers in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians Saturday. (AP)

CLEVELAND — Carson Fulmer closed the book on his audition for the White Sox’ 2018 starting rotation in much the same way fellow right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez did.

With an encouraging showing.

The last of his five starts came against the hottest team in baseball, the Indians. Fulmer (3-1) pitched five innings of one-run ball before turning the game over to the Sox’ bullpen, which closed out a 2-1 victory and sent Fulmer into the offseason with a limited but quality body of work to sleep on.

‘‘You’re facing the best,’’ manager Rick Renteria said before Fulmer took on the Indians, who lead the American League with 101 victories. ‘‘You want to have a barometer, a measuring stick as to where you’re at. We want to make sure we give him an opportunity to hopefully leave on a positive note.’’

Renteria guaranteed that by lifting Fulmer, who hadn’t pitched since exiting a game against the Astros on Sept. 21 because of a blister, after 84 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out two.

‘‘It was vintage Carson,’’ said catcher Kevan Smith, whose RBI single against Corey Kluber and RBI double against Mike Clevinger accounted for the Sox’ runs. ‘‘He was attacking. He was a bulldog.’’

Fulmer’s season at Class AAA Charlotte raised legitimate questions about whether he was starting-pitcher material. In 26 starts, he was 7-9 with a 5.79 ERA, 96 strikeouts and 65 walks in 126 innings.

When Fulmer, the No. 8 overall pick of the 2015 draft, was called up to start Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Twins on Aug. 21 at Guaranteed Rate Field, he laid an egg. He allowed six runs and got only four outs, which only seemed to confirm that his up-tempo delivery might be better-suited for relief than starting.

‘‘It was a tough start,’’ Fulmer said. ‘‘I’ve been through a lot this year; I’ve been through a lot last year. But things are starting to click a little bit.’’

After going back to Charlotte, Fulmer returned in September and made two good relief appearances, including a scoreless 2 2/3-inning outing against the Indians that earned him another shot at starting.

He didn’t allow more than one run in any of his last four starts, one of which was abbreviated by the blister, and had a 1.56 ERA in those starts. He allowed 10 hits and struck out 16 in 17 1/3 innings.

‘‘I want to be a staple in this rotation,’’ Fulmer said. ‘‘We have something really special here, and I want to be in that rotation and be a part of the team that takes us to where we want to be.’’

Fulmer looked as though he might belong with Giolito (3-3, 2.38 ERA), who allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts, and Lopez (3-3, 4.72), who made five quality starts in eight outings.

‘‘I feel like we’re really gluing together here,’’ Fulmer said. ‘‘We’ll carry that success into next year, getting to where we want to be.’’

‘‘It was a nice showing,’’ Renteria said. ‘‘His last three or four have been nice. He has impressed. Anyone who had doubts he could do this, he kind of chipped away at that. He showed there’s a possibility he can pitch at the major-league level in the starting rotation.’’

Five relievers combined for four scoreless innings to preserve Fulmer’s victory.

The only fallout from the result was how it affected the 67-94 Sox’ draft position next season. If the Cubs defeat the Reds on Sunday, the Sox will draft fifth, regardless of what they do against the Indians.

Follow me on Twitter @CST_soxvan.

Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com