The starter is yanked after three innings, the three best relievers give up home runs to blow the lead in three consecutive innings, and the guy who hits the walk-off home run was sent to the plate to bunt.

Just another day at the ball yard for the Indians, who swept the four-game series with the Seattle Mariners by earning a 10-8 decision Monday at Progressive Field.

“Earning” might be the wrong word. There was a lot of give and take during the game. The Mariners did the giving and the Tribe did the taking.

Yan Gomes became the hero when he launched Charlie Furbush’s 3-and-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers for a three-run homer with nobody out in the 10th inning. By that time, Gomes’ first homer of the game, a solo blast in the second inning, was almost forgotten, so much bizarre stuff occurred in the intervening innings.

But let’s start with the final inning. Michael Brantley hacked away at a 3-and-2 pitch and slapped a bloop single over the outstretched glove of second baseman Robert Andino.

Drew Stubbs followed with a sacrifice bunt that was fielded by Furbush, who bobbled the ball, then tossed it softly to first in time to nail Stubbs. Except that Justin Smoak dropped the throw.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said that Furbush wanted to throw to second, but after he mishandled the bunt, his only play was to first.

Gomes tried to bunt the runners to second and third, but Furbush wouldn’t let him make an out, throwing pitches that only a contortionist could bunt. Manager Terry Francona took off the bunt sign, but Gomes apparently didn’t see it.

“I think they took it off two pitches before, and I was still trying to get it down,” Gomes said. “They came over and told me.”

Finally, third-base coach Brad Mills trotted to the plate to tell Gomes to hit away.

Undoubtedly, Francona and Gomes’ teammates would have been pleased with a sacrifice fly to tie the score, but Gomes had other ideas, delivering his fourth home run of the season.

“I think I had a walk-off in college against LSU,” he said. “But this was definitely a little better.”

Asked if he knew the ball was out, Gomes said, “I knew it would get to the fence. If it wasn’t [out], I’m not going to keep working out. Maybe it’s the beet juice. I have to keep drinking that.”

Francona called off the bunt when he saw how fiercely the Mariners’ infielders were charging the plate.

“Bunting probably is not Gomes’ strength anyway,” he said. “And they were really being aggressive.”

With Scott Kazmir struggling from the outset of the game, the Indians’ offense had a tough time staying ahead. Kazmir gave up five runs and seven hits in three innings, and Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma allowed five runs in six innings.

But after the Tribe got its first gift run in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead — reliever Yoervis Medina muffed Asdrubal Cabrera’s dribbler with Michael Bourn on second, allowing him to score — the Indians brought in their bullpen stalwarts.

Vinnie Pestano was the first to crumble, giving up a leadoff homer to Kyle Seager in the eighth to tie the score again. Pinch-hitter Endy Chavez took Chris Perez deep to start the ninth, giving the Mariners a lead.

But an error by Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen, who dropped a throw covering first base, allowed Jason Kipnis to score the game-tying run in the ninth.

Emotions took a 180 in the 10th when Joe Smith gave up a two-out home run to Smoak, who delivered what should have been the game-winner to the Mariners.

All it did was set the stage for yet another mistake by the visitors and Gomes’ improbable star turn.

“You hate to give a team extra outs,” Pestano said, referring to the Mariners. “But when you do it with guys who have our speed and our ability to get on base, giving away those outs can greatly impact the game.”

The Indians have won five in a row, 18 of their past 22 and lead the Detroit Tigers by 2½ games in the Central Division race. Coincidentally, the Tigers come to town for two games starting tonight.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Working 16 innings, Masterson struck out 20 and walked five, becoming the first Tribe pitcher to win the award since CC Sabathia in 2008.

In 10 starts this season, Masterson has posted a 7-2 record and 2.83 ERA. He is issuing walks at the rate of 3.3 per nine innings and striking out batters at the rate of 9.1 per nine innings.

After 10 starts in 2012, Masterson was 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA with 4.9 walks and 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Asked what’s been better this year, Masterson said, “Everything.”

Earlier this month, Ryan Raburn became the first Indian this year to claim the weekly award.

HAD TO ASK — Why should fans believe in this year’s Tribe when last year’s also was in first place at this time of the season then tanked?

“Last year we got off to that fast start but it was like, ‘When are they going to slow down?,’ or ‘When are the real Indians going to show up?’ ” Vinnie Pestano said. “These are different guys this year. You have to look at the lineup. We have guys on the bench hitting .290.”

MYERS UPDATE — Brett Myers will make his second rehab start for the Double-A Aeros in Akron tonight. He has been on the disabled list since April 20 with inflammation in his right elbow.

FARM FACTS — Cord Phelps hit two home runs and had three RBI in Columbus’ 10-4 win over Scranton Wilkes-Barre in Class AAA. Matt Lawson homered, doubled and singled, driving in two runs, and Juan Diaz had three hits and one RBI. Trevor Bauer (2-0, 3.23 ERA) gave up four runs and six hits, walking five, in six innings. … Cody Anderson (5-2, 2.41 ERA) pitched 6⅓ shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, as Carolina beat Lynchburg 6-2 in Class A. Jordon Smith tripled and singled twice, Francisco Lindor doubled and singled, and Tony Wolters homered, driving in two runs. … Richard Stock homered and doubled, driving in two runs, and Anthony Santander homered and had three RBI, as Lake County beat Fort Wayne 7-5 in Class A. Logan Vick had three hits.

— Sheldon Ocker

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Max Scherzer (5-0, 3.98) vs. Corey Kluber (3-2, 5.40)

WEDNESDAY: Tigers 
at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Justin Verlander (4-4, 3.17) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2, 5.31)

THURSDAY: Indians

at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: WKYC (Channel 3)

Pitchers: Zach McAllister (3-3, 2.65) vs. Ryan Dempster (2-4, 4.27)

FRIDAY: Indians 
at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: STO

SATURDAY: Indians 
at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO

SUNDAY: Indians 
at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO

Monday: Indians 
at Reds

Time: 1:10 p.m.

TV: STO

When the team’s three best relievers get dumped on in the same game, it’s probably an aberration. But nobody will know for certain until their next appearance or two.

“You don’t often see an opponent score in three straight [late] innings and you win the game,” manager Terry Francona said. “Yeah, it’s interesting.”

Pestano gave up a home run to Kyle Seager that tied the score in the eighth; Perez was rocked by Endy Chavez’s home run in the ninth that gave the Mariners the lead, and Smith was assaulted by Justin Smoak, whose 10th-inning homer put the Mariners on top again.

Looking on the bright side, Pestano said, “It feels great to walk back to the dugout and look guys in the eye and know they will pick me up. You have to rely on the other guys.”

Perez’s home run might be the most worrisome, because he has allowed homers in consecutive appearances. On Saturday, he was summoned to hold a 4-2 lead and yielded solo homers to Raul Ibanez and Smoak.

Of the homer he gave up to Chavez, Perez said, “It was a terrible pitch, and he put a pretty good swing on it. Maybe this is a little mini-slump; they happen once or twice a year.”

Perez has given up four earned runs this season on four solo homers. He gave up six home runs last year.

Despite his recent struggles, it’s doubtful that Perez is a victim of diminishing skills, unless he’s hurt, which does not seem to be the case.

“The good part is that he feels good, and he’s done this [save games] before,” Francona said. “When you’re a closer and you give up a home run, it’s glaring.”

Two relievers that got lost in all of Monday’s strange game were Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers, who each threw two scoreless innings.

“I hope they’re not forgotten in all this,” Francona said. “They came in and shut the door and gave us a chance.”

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ.

The idea is to swing only at the most hittable pitches and watch the others smack into the catcher’s glove.

But there’s a catch: Pitchers try to make almost every pitch look like it should be whacked over the fence, but at the last millisecond, the ball dives or dips or rises out of the strike zone.

So there are complications with this approach as with any plan to foil a major-league pitcher. Yet even the best pitchers can be vulnerable.

The Tribe took apart former Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez on Sunday, in the first two innings, pasting a five-spot on his chest like a name tag and scoring another run later, as the Mariners fell 6-0 at Progressive Field.

The Indians this year have faced R.A. Dickey, David Price, Phillip Humber, Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colon, Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander and Hernandez, who have an aggregate 0-7 record and 12.32 ERA against the Tribe. What do these pitchers have in common? All have won a Cy Young Award, thrown a no-hitter or both.

Three other no-hit perpetrators or Cy guys (Jon Lester, Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy) are 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA against the Wily Wahoos. But isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

By the time Hernandez (5-3, 2.07 ERA) had completed the second inning, he had thrown almost 60 pitches, so it was clear the Indians’ plan was working.

“It’s just hard labor,” Mike Aviles said, describing the tactic. “Nobody wants to do hard labor. I know I don’t. I want it to be the easiest way possible.”

But hard labor is what Hernandez was subjected to. That and some over-the-top hustle.

Michael Bourn led off the first inning with a routine single to center, but instead of stopping at first, he raced to second ahead of the throw by Michael Morse.

One out later, Michael Brantley drove in Bourn with a single and advanced to second when Morse overthrew the cutoff man, leading to the inning’s second run that scored on an error by first baseman Justin Smoak.

“If you can’t get excited about that play — that’s about as fun as baseball gets,” manager Terry Francona said. ‘“And Aviles did the same thing. Those plays are fun to watch, they’re intelligent and they’re inspiring.”

Aviles hustled his way to a run when he scored from second on Drew Stubbs’ topped ground ball to the catcher, who threw out the batter at first.

“I didn’t think Felix or the catcher could get back to the plate in time,” Aviles said. “And it would have taken a perfect throw. We had a five-run lead, so why not try it? If we had a one-run lead, I might not have done it.”

The point is, opposing players have to keep an eye on the Indians every second or risk having the Tribe swipe the wrist bands off their arms.

Brantley delivered the biggest hit of the game, a three-run homer in the second.

“I just wanted to make sure I got a quality at-bat,” Brantley said. “I tried to get good pitches early. Also we needed to get to him in the early innings to put a little more pressure on him.”

Brantley’s father, Mickey, was watching.

“My father was in attendance,” Brantley said. “I wanted to tell him he did it right.”

Mickey Brantley is a former major-leaguer.

When Hernandez’s pitch count rose to 107 in five innings, he gave way to a reliever after giving up six runs (five earned), eight hits (five for extra bases) and no walks, striking out eight. In his previous four starts, Hernandez had allowed only four runs in 46 innings.

“We made him work early, and we made him work hard,” Francona said.

As efficiently as the Tribe offense played Hernandez, that’s how thorough was Justin Masterson’s domination of the Mariners. In seven innings, Masterson (7-2, 2.83 ERA) yielded three hits and two walks, while striking out 11. He has not given up a run in 19 innings.

“We knew we were going up against Felix, but there wasn’t one person in this clubhouse that didn’t think we had a chance to win,” Francona said. “That’s a pretty good compliment to Masterson. He came out firing, but he also was pitching.”

As always, Masterson gave credit to his teammates and added: “Hernandez is by far a better pitcher than I am. It was just our day. He’s one of the best and always will be.”

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

It is not enough for Carrasco to demonstrate consistent reliability.

“We told Carlos when he went down there that he had to create his own major-league environment,” said vice president of player development Ross Atkins on Sunday. “He should be the best pitcher down there. He should be dominating.”

In seven games for the Clippers, including six starts, Carrasco has compiled a 1-0 record and 1.60 ERA, giving up 21 hits and seven walks in 33⅔ innings, while striking out 35.

Carrasco’s work load is monitored because he is coming off elbow reconstruction surgery, but that doesn’t keep him from being the scourge of the International League.

“If he started to command his fastball really well,” Atkins said, “he would be one of the better pitchers in the major leagues.

Carrasco had a chance to keep a job in the big leagues earlier in the season, but in his first start in more than 1½ years, he was ineffective, and he hit a batter immediately after giving up a home run. For that, he was given an eight-game suspension.

That might not seem fair, except that shortly before undergoing surgery, in his final big-league appearance of 2011, he hit the Royals’ Billy Butler following a home run and was handed a six-game suspension, which eventually was reduced to five games. He had just completed serving his time when he committed his newest offense.

“There are a couple of complicating factors in him coming back here,” Atkins said. “One is the eight-game suspension. The other is how well other guys are pitching.”

Carrasco has not appealed the suspension, but he still has the capability to do that. But because of his past indiscretion, it might not make any difference. Moreover, there are two starters ahead of Carrasco in the current pecking order.

Brett Myers was in the rotation until he suffered an elbow injury that has kept him on the disabled list for a month. He probably will be activated by the end of May.

Corey Kluber has pitched well enough in Myers’ absence to force manager Terry Francona and General Manager Chris Antonetti to at least think about keeping him where he is rather than optioning him to Triple-A.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.

Mike Aviles is batting .421 (7-for-17) against Hernandez; Jason Kipnis .400 (6-for-15), Michael Brantley .381 (8-for-21) and Jason Giambi .308 (4-for-13). Nick Swisher is hitting only .212 (11-for-52) against Hernandez but has four home runs.

“We kind of got to him early today,” said Michael Bourn, who had never faced Hernandez before. “He got better as the game went on. Even though he gave up those (five) runs by the second inning, he didn’t give up on it.”

OTHER STUFF — The Indians are 17-4 in their past 21 games. … The Tribe is second in the big leagues with 34 RBI in the first inning. … The Indians have blanked their opponents seven times. … Justin Masterson is the first Cleveland pitcher since Charles Nagy in 1996 to have seven wins through 42 games.

FARM FACTS — T.J. House gave up one unearned run and four hits in 6⅓ innings, as Columbus defeated Scranton Wilkes-Barre 4-3. Lonnie Chisenhall hit his second homer of the season and drove in two runs. … Luigi Rodriguez doubled, singled and drove in one run in Carolina’s 7-3 loss to Lynchburg. … Ryan Merritt (2-3, 3.35 ERA) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings as Lake County beat Fort Wayne 3-2.

— Sheldon Ocker

Time: 12:05 p.m.

TV: STO.

Pitchers: Hisashi Iwakuma (5-1, 1.84) vs. Scott Kazmir (2-2, 5.33).

TUESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO.

Pitchers: Max Scherzer (5-0, 3.98) vs. Corey Kluber (3-2, 5.40).

WEDNESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO.

THURSDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: WKYC (Channel 3).

FRIDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: STO.

SATURDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO.

SUNDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO.

What do these pitchers have in common? All of won a Cy Young Award, thrown a no-hitter or both.

Three other no-hit perpetrators or Cy guys (Jon Lester, Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy) are 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA. Hernandez took his bitter medicine today, losing 6-0 to the Tribe.

  As dominating a pitcher as Hernandez can be, several Indians have impressive numbers against him.
  Mike Aviles is batting .421 (7-for-17) against Hernandez; Jason Kipnis .400 (6-for-15), Michael Brantley .381 (8-for-21) and Jason Giambi .308 (4-for-13). Nick Swisher is hitting only .212 (11-for-52) against Hernandez but has four home runs.   
    “We kind of got to him early today,’’ said Michael Bourn, who had never faced Hernandez before. “”He got better as the game went on. Even though he gave up those (five) runs by the second inning, he didn’t give up on it.’’

 

So the Tribe went rolling merrily along, winning for the 16th time in the past 20 games by befuddling the Seattle Mariners 5-4 Saturday at Progressive Field.

Maybe the Indians didn’t stupefy the visitors so much as the Mariners baffled themselves after delivering a heroic two-homer rally in the ninth inning to tie the score.

Well, so what? The Tribe already had three walk-off wins this season, so the situation was nothing new or scary.

Events transpired this way:

Instead of using a two-run lead to earn a save, Chris Perez gave up consecutive two-out homers to Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak to give the Mariners a tie.

But Jason Kipnis opened the ninth with a soft single to center and Asdrubal Cabrera doubled him to third, forcing Seattle manager Eric Wedge to order Nick Swisher be walked intentionally to load the bases and make possible a force at every base.

For an instant, it looked like the strategy would work. With the infield playing in for a play at the plate, Mark Reynolds slapped a ground ball toward the shortstop hole. Brendan Ryan had to make a sprawling stop, but his throw to the plate looked as if it would beat Kipnis.

That turned out not to matter, because catcher Jesus Montero, on his knees waiting for the throw, didn’t bother to put his foot on the plate. Umpire Mike Winters gave the safe sign, then with a sweeping movement of his hands indicated that Montero’s foot was off the plate.

Cue the fireworks.

“The throw beat him, but Monty came off the plate early,” said Wedge, clearly angry. “You have to stand on the plate. You have to, but he came out a little bit early. We got the ground ball we wanted — Ryno made a great play — but we didn’t get it done.”

Manager Terry Francona knew Montero’s foot was off the plate when the throw reached him; he didn’t know whether the catcher’s foot slid off the plate or never was on the plate.

“I didn’t think when he caught the ball he was on the plate,” Francona said.

Kipins was just running as fast as he could.

“It was a heck of a play by the shortstop,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was going to slide, stand up or run into him [Montero]. I didn’t know if I had it [beat or not].”

Reynolds more often has used his power stroke as a difference maker than a ground ball to the left side. His conventional weapon showed itself in the fifth inning, when he homered for the 12th time this season.

Of his crucial ground ball RBI, he said: “Please get through. Please make a bad throw. Please beat the throw. Please make something bad happen [to them].”

Wishing doesn’t make it so, but the Indians have handled the pressure of tight games and coming from behind with aplomb up to now.

“We made it a little more exciting than it needed to be,” Francona said. “But there’s something to be said for being resilient.

“We never want to feel like we’re out of it. We don’t think there’s a matchup we can’t win. So we play and play and play until they tell us to stop. And things like today should help our confidence.”

Perez’s problem was that he threw two hittable pitches.

“The one to Smoak, I didn’t think was that bad of a pitch,” he said. “But it probably was, because he hit it out. The other one [to Ibanez], I missed my spot totally and he hit it.”

Zach McAllister started and after seven innings, he had not given up a run. But Montero led off the eighth with a double and one out later, Ryan hit his first home run of the season, signaling the end of McAllister’s work day.

Through seven innings, he gave up four hits and a walk. During one stretch, he retired 11 of 12 batters. The only one who reached, Smoak, drew a walk and was erased on a double play.

“Zach pitched to contact,” Francona said. “It was a pitcher-friendly day [wind was blowing in], and both pitchers used that. Zach has pitched very well for us. For a young kid, he’s really been reliable.”

That tendency began last year and has intensified in 2013.

In his past four games, McAllister has averaged seven innings per start and compiled a 1.93 ERA with only six walks in 28 innings.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

By that I mean the Tribe’s biggest concerns will center on keeping talented players and assimilating new ones into the mix than trying to fill huge holes in the lineup, the rotation and the bullpen.

• Is Mark Reynolds on the road to pricing himself out of the Indians’ market?

Just what General Manager Chris Antonetti needed: a one-year signee on the verge of free agency who might be in the early stages of a career season.

Not only is Reynolds among the American League’s top two or three home run hitters, he has significantly lowered his ratio of strikeouts to at-bats. If this keeps up, he will hit his way to a seven-year, $125 million deal.

That’s a little more upmarket than the Indians (and most teams) can afford, but what can they do about it? If Reynolds actually gets to free agency with power numbers big enough to collateralize a loan for one of Donald Trump’s high rises, the Tribe is done.

Antonetti’s only chance to keep Reynolds is to sign him now and take the risk that his early season fireworks are the real deal. Reynolds’ agent undoubtedly prefers to wait until the bidders start lining up in October, but maybe Reynolds is the kind of guy who would rather opt for security than fret about what might happen if his numbers sag or he gets hurt.

• It’s time to sign Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley to multiyear contracts, if they are willing.

Why now? It’s worth the gamble that these guys are players who can be significant contributors on a contending team. Of course, you can never accurately assess when or if an injury will cost a player an entire season.

Brantley will be eligible for arbitration after the season, which works against (but does not kill) the chance to lock him up for three years or maybe longer. Kipnis can’t use arbitration as leverage yet, but he’ll be there after next season.

When former Tribe GM John Hart initiated the idea of buying players out of their arbitration years and even their first free-agent season, players usually were willing to take guaranteed but not enormous salaries rather than go year by year. That was then; agents have made it a tougher sell now.

• It’s too early to know whether Scott Kazmir will become a solid member of the rotation, but Antonetti might have to make up his mind soon.

Kazmir has two things going for him: He’s only 29, and he’s a left-hander who can deliver 93 mph fastballs.

Not only can he walk at the end of the season, he will be a hot commodity if he goes on to resemble the Scott Kazmir of five years ago. Chances are, he will not be a guy who commands a mega-sized contract, but one or more teams might be willing to give him upwards of $35 million spread over, say, four years.

Will one of those teams be the Indians? If Antonetti has access to the team fortune teller, it might be time to take a meeting.

• I’ve written this before and nothing has changed to make me alter my opinion.

The trade for Ubaldo Jimenez was a lose, lose proposition from Day One. Only if Jimenez helped lead the Tribe to a World Series would the deal be worth the cost. That isn’t likely to happen, though at the moment, things are looking up.

Why such a harsh judgment?

Antonetti was going to have Jimenez for 2½ seasons. If Jimenez returned to being the pitcher who delivered a no-hitter and routinely blew away hitters with 97-mph fastballs, the Indians wouldn’t be able to afford him. If he continued to struggle as he did in 2011, Antonetti wouldn’t want him.

We have come to the final season in Jimenez’s contract. He has a mutual option for 2014, but it’s unlikely that both parties will agree to exercise it.

The only way the Tribe might keep Jimenez beyond this year is if he is neither great nor horrible. If he is somewhere in the middle, Antonetti might want him back, and Jimenez might stay, knowing that the big money is beyond his reach.

So far, Jimenez has pitched well enough to merit consideration for an extension, but there is no need to rush to judgment, inasmuch as two starters — Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer — are waiting for their chances in Columbus. Which brings up the next potential dilemma.

• At some point in the season, the Tribe is likely to need Carrasco in the rotation.

His eight-game suspension stands in the way of any sort of urgent call-up. That is, if a starter were to get hurt and the club had to have a starter in two or three days, Carrasco would be out of luck.

Even if Carrasco were to replace a slumping starter, whose skid lasted several weeks, there would have to be a plan in place to allow Carrasco to take up a roster spot (he has to be on team to serve the suspension) but not pitch. Is such a plan in place?

Incidentally, Carrasco was about 120 days short (about two-thirds of a season) of arbitration eligibility at the end of spring training. The longer he is in Triple-A, the less chance he can use arbitration as leverage next year.

There will be many more player personnel decisions to make when the season is over. Some of the answers will become clear as the schedule unfolds, some will become more difficult.

Before Antonetti is faced with making thumbs up or down judgments about next season, the July 31 trading deadline will be upon us. If the Indians are still in the race, will they have the resources to be buyers, and how will that impact the decisions that must be made about 2014?

The likely topics: Chris Perez, Carlos Santana, Yan Gomes and the monkey wrench otherwise known as arbitration. More about these on future Sundays.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

0-53 — Speaking of Darvish: entering Thursday’s start against the Detroit Tigers, none of the 53 batters to lead off an inning against him had scored. Only 10 had reached base. This streak was snapped after Don Kelly led off an inning with a home run.

No. 2 again — Entering the weekend series with the Seattle Mariners, Jason Kipnis’ power surge had put him near the top at his position. Kipnis started slow but is now second among second baseman in isolated power (.236), trailing only the New York Yankees’ Robinson Cano.

13 — Since May 3, Kipnis leads the major leagues in extra-base hits with 13, including his walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners Friday night.

.121 — That’s what Mariners’ shortstops have combined to hit, entering this weekend. That’s even below what the average pitcher has hit (.123) this season.

$8.4 million per win — It might not surprise you to hear the Miami Marlins and Houston Astros rank last and second-to-last in two categories: winning percentage and total salary ($35.7 and $21.1 million, respectively, according to ESPN). What might be surprising is to see the payroll of the team with the third-worst winning percentage: $127.8 million, which belongs to the 15-26 Los Angeles Angels.

— Ryan Lewis

Am I the only one who has trouble reading the Indians’ score box in the upper left of the screen? To whom should I complain? GO TRIBE!!!

Was your father a dentist in Stow? If so I spent some very frightening moments in his chair.

Dorothy Jones

Dear Dorothy:

So did I. Maybe we could compare X-rays and gold fillings.

You might try calling Fox SportsTime Ohio at 440-746-8000 or sending them an email: fso@foxsports.net. However, I don’t know what anyone can do about your problem. Unless … Are you watching on a television that is not broadcast in high definition? If so, that might be why the score box is difficult to decipher.

Sheldon Ocker

Sheldon:

Poor attendance? The great teams of the ’90s was a generation ago!

Fans then weren’t concerned about losing their star players. Today, fans know that Carlos Santana will be a Yankee when his Cleveland imprisonment is over. I had season tickets for the Indians back in the early ’80s.

Couldn’t give them away. They were a business write-off. Today, businesses’ budgets are probably even tighter and under more scrutiny. With plenty of good seats available, why commit to a full season?

If the temperature in Akron is 60 degrees, at the ballpark it probably feels like 50. The economy in NE Ohio is worse today than it was in 1995, thus fewer dollars are available for entertainment. How much would it cost today for me to take my wife and three children to a game? Probably looking at $125, when including the cost of tickets, parking, food, gas to travel, etc. That is too much for most families.

Worse yet and a problem for baseball, golf and the newspaper business: Children are not being raised with these as a habit. Kids do not play baseball as they did when I was a child.

Finally, I grew up in this area reading the Beacon and the Kent-Ravenna Record Courrier. I have three college educated children, none of whom subscribe to a newspaper nor do they read one. They get their news from the Internet or TV. I don’t like it, but that is the way of the younger generation.

Sorry,

George Nehlsen

Dear George:

Don’t apologize, but don’t give me the same tired excuses I’ve continually heard for years. If you don’t want to buy tickets to an Indians game, just say so. You don’t have to sound guilty about it.

The fans didn’t worry about losing their stars, because the Indians didn’t have any until the ’90s, and they all left. The generation gap to which you refer doesn’t seem to affect baseball in St. Louis, Chicago, Seattle or Arlington, Texas. The quality of play does.

If you used your tickets as a business write-off, I am assuming you were not (nor are you now) on food stamps. Nobody is suggesting that truly destitute people buy tickets for one game, let alone an entire season. Nobody is insisting that folks living in poverty spend their money at Progressive Field.

The temperature in Akron, at least until June, has always felt warmer than in a ballpark near Lake Erie. Nor is the economy an issue. When the Cavaliers were winning with LeBron James, they filled Quicken Loans Arena when the economy was much worse than now. Is Progressive Field, across the street from the Cavs, in a third-world country?

All of the problems you cite in Cleveland are prevalent in most cities with big-league baseball, but only the Tribe is last in attendance.

Nobody feels worse about the decline of newspapers than the people still working in the industry. But it’s a mistake to believe Generation X or Y or whatever the 30 and unders are called these days don’t seek and find sports information on the Internet or on television.

Twenty years ago, ESPN was not king of all that is sports. ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, the regional Fox Sports networks — including Fox SportsTime Ohio — Yahoo Sports, CBS Sportsline and all of the newspaper websites, including the Beacon Journal’s Ohio.com, were either in their infancy or did not exist.

In past 20 years, there also has been a proliferation of sports talk radio stations, so there is hardly a vacuum of information about the Tribe or any other team.

No doubt there are reasons why the Indians haven’t attracted big crowds the past several seasons, but you haven’t touched on any of them.

S.O.

• On Monday, the Washington Nationals’ young superstar Bryce Harper — known for his Charlie-Hustle-like effort on the diamond — ran head-first into the wall at Dodger Stadium trying to track down a fly ball. The collision was rather brutal, and Harper lay on the ground for several minutes and then got up with blood streaming down his neck and bruised ribs on his left side. All he did upon his return to the starting lineup on Thursday was launch a 432-foot home run. He also tweeted during the week “I will keep playing this game hard for the rest of my life even if it kills me! I will never stop! #RespectTheGame.” Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis responded on Twitter with “#Thatwallbegstodiffer.”

• In a very precious moment, a father — Lt. Col. Will Adams, who had been serving in Afghanistan — was able to surprise his family thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays. Adams’ 9-year-old daughter, Alayna, was set to throw out the first pitch at a Rays game. What she didn’t know was that Adams was catching, hidden by wearing full catcher’s gear and a facemask. After the pitch, Adams took off the mask and smiled and Alayna sprinted into his arms. It’ll be hard to find a more memorable and meaningful game of catch.

— Ryan Lewis

TRIVIAL PURSUIT — The 2012 and 2013 editions of the Tribe posted identical 23-17 records after 40 games. Last year’s club scored two fewer runs than the opposition (176-178), whereas this season’s team outscored the opposition 197-169. Earned-run averages are almost identical, 4.01 in 2012 and 3.92 this year.

OTHER STUFF — The Indians are seven games over .500 for the first time this season. … They are 13-8 at home but 11-2 in their past 13 games at Progressive Field. They also are 11-3 in one-run games. … Chris Perez allowed two home runs in an inning for the third time in his career.

FARM FACTS — Ezequiel Carrera tripled, singled and drove in two runs, as Columbus defeated Syracuse 6-3 in Class AAA. Juan Diaz doubled and had two RBI. Brett Brach (1-0, 2.19 ERA) gave up two runs and six hits in 7⅓ innings. … Shawn Morimando gave up two earned runs (three total) and six hits in six innings in Carolina’s 7-6 loss to Lynchburg in Class A. Charlie Valerio doubled twice and had two RBI. Tyler Naquin doubled, singled and drove in one run. … Jeremy Lucas had two hits and three RBI and Dorsys Paulino doubled and singled, but Lake County lost 4-3 to Fort Wayne in Class A.

— Sheldon Ocker

Time: 1:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Felix Hernandez (5-2, 1.53) vs. Justin Masterson (6-2, 3.14)

MONDAY: Mariners at Indians

Time: 12:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Hisashi Iwakuma (5-1, 1.84) vs. Scott Kazmir (2-2, 5.33)

TUESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Max Scherzer (5-0, 3.98) vs. Corey Kluber (3-2, 5.40)

WEDNESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

THURSDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: WKYC (Channel 3)

FRIDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: STO

SATURDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO

SUNDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV: STO

  The 2012 and 2013 editions of the Tribe posted identical 23-17 records after 40 games.

Last year’s club scored two fewer runs than the opposition (176-178), whereas this season’s team outscored the opposition 197-169. Earned-run averages are almost identical, 4.01 in 2012 and 3.92 this year.

 A big edge in home runs went this year's club; 55-34.

  The Indians are seven games over .500 for the first time this season…..They are 13-8 at home but 11-2 in their past 13 games at Progressive Field. They also are 11-3 in one-run games…..Chris Perez allowed two home runs in an inning for the third time in his career.

 

“He’ll probably get two or three rehab starts, depending on how he feels and a lot of other things,” manager Terry Francona said. “He’s chomping at the bit to come back, so he feels healthy.”

Myers went on the disabled list April 20 with inflammation in his right elbow.

How the rotation will shake out is in question. If Corey Kluber continues to pitch well, will he have to forfeit his job to Myers, or does Francona have another plan?

ROSTER MOVES — Vinnie Pestano was activated from the disabled list before the game after spending 15 days on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right elbow.

Francona wasn’t planning to use the setup man immediately in tight situations.

“If there is any rust, let him shake it off,” Francona said. “He doesn’t have to pitch in the eighth inning [right away].”

TRIVIA PURSUIT — In the past 18 games going into Friday night’s game against the 
Seattle Mariners, the Tribe’s rotation has compiled a 12-4 record and 3.17 ERA.

FARM FACTS — Carlos Carrasco gave up one unearned run and three hits in five innings as Columbus defeated Syracuse 4-2 in Class AAA. Tim Fedroff had three hits and one RBI. … Tyler Naquin had three hits, including a triple, and one RBI as Carolina defeated Salem 5-4 in Class A. Francisco Lindor had a double and two singles.

— Sheldon Ocker

Time: 1:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Joe Saunders (3-4, 5.51) vs. Zach McAllister (3-3, 2.68)

SUNDAY: Mariners at Indians

Time: 1:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Felix Hernandez (5-2, 1.53) vs. Justin Masterson (6-2, 3.14)

MONDAY: Mariners at Indians

Time: 12:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Hisashi Iwakuma (5-1, 1.84) vs. Scott Kazmir (2-2, 5.33)

TUESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

Pitchers: Max Scherzer (5-0, 3.98) vs. Corey Kluber (3-2, 5.40)

WEDNESDAY: Tigers at Indians

Time: 7:05 p.m.

TV: STO

THURSDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: WKYC (Channel 3)

FRIDAY: Indians at Red Sox

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: STO

Just when the Indians put themselves in position to win by drawing a walk, stealing a base and securing an infield hit, Jason Kipnis lined a drive into the seats in right for his seventh home run of the season, giving the Tribe a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Friday night.

The rally began with Drew Stubbs’ two-out walk off Lucas Luetge and a steal of second. Michael Bourn beat out a slow roller to the right side of the infield to put runners on first and third.

All the Tribe needed was a single, which is what Kipnis was thinking.

“I just needed to slap the ball for a hit, and maybe knowing that helped to slow me down on his off-speed pitch,” Kipnis said. “He threw me a slider and then came back with the same pitch.”

Big mistake.

“I just got the bat in a good position and got the ball up in the air,” Kipnis said.

Kipnis struggled through spring training and at the start of the season, but over the past three weeks he has hit all seven of his home runs with 20 RBI.

“People were talking about moving him down in the order,” manager Terry Francona said. “But you have to be patient, and he made that pay off. Not only is he getting hits, he’s getting big hits.”

Even before he got to the plate, Kipnis had an idea of what he wanted to do.

“You always map it out,” he said. “You know what kind of situation you’re going to be in when you get up there. Once you’re on deck, you think nothing but positive [thoughts] and be confident.”

The crowd numbered 34,282, making it the second largest of the season at Progressive Field. Walkup attendees totaled 6,700, the sixth largest such throng in the history of the ballpark.

Not only was all of this proof that winning pays off at the gate, it demonstrated the drawing power of postgame fireworks and Dollar Dog Night.

Before the first pitch, a message flashed on the scoreboard announcing that the fans already had eaten (or at least purchased) more than 15,000 bargain dogs. No further updates were given.

Francona was not cognizant of the crowd during the game.

“It was noticeable before the game,” he said. “But I don’t think about it during the game. I’m glad they came. There were a lot of hot dogs, I know that.”

Ubaldo Jimenez wasn’t consistently sharp, but he was lethal. In five innings, he struck out nine but gave up seven hits and walked two. The Mariners put plenty of runners on base during Jimenez’s time on the mound, but they could not sustain a rally against him.

Kendrys Morales launched a fourth-inning fly ball that cleared the fence for his fifth home run of the season with nobody on base.

Jimenez was charged with two runs, but one was let in by Rich Hill, who was summoned after Jimenez gave up a single to start the sixth inning. Bringing in Hill did not prove to be a beneficial move for the Tribe, as Raul Ibanez whacked his second pitch into the right-field seats for a two-run homer.

Should Francona have left Jimenez in the game? To that point, he had thrown 98 pitches and three of the last four batters he faced reached base. He struck out the other one.

If only Hill had told the manager he was going to give up a home run, Francona would have picked a better option.

“Ubaldo threw the ball very well,” Francona said. “But they fouled off a lot of pitches and he struck out a lot of guys and that got his pitch count up. I didn’t want him to face Ibanez three times, and of course, the exact opposite happens [Ibanez goes deep against a different pitcher].”

The Indians had as much trouble denting the armor of Brandon Maurer as did the Mariners trying to make life miserable for Jimenez. The Tribe has been embarrassingly successful against former Cy Young Award winners and perpetrators of no-hitters, but pitchers with Maurer’s credentials (2-5 record and 5.97 ERA) at times have given the club fits.

In the second inning, Nick Swisher led off with a walk and soon found himself at third following Carlos Santana’s double. Jason Giambi’s sacrifice fly scored Swisher and allowed Santana to reach third, from where he scored on a wild pitch.

With one out in the fifth, Stubbs hit a drive over the wall in right for his third home run of the season, which preceded consecutive singles by Michael Bourn and Kipnis.

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians.