After a good road trip, the Indians stumble at home in a punchless loss to the Twins.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The contending Indians face a difficult nine-game stretch beginning Tuesday. They play three-game series against Atlanta and Detroit on the road and Baltimore at home.
Until then, the Indians need to deal with the non-contending-but-pesky Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. The first of a three-game set did not go well for the hosts.
Twins right-hander Samuel Deduno, who had been bad in August, gave up one run on three hits in six innings as Minnesota prevailed, 5-1. The Twins are 57-70 overall, but they improved to 20-17 on the road since July 13. In their previous series, they won two of three in Detroit.
The Indians (69-59) were coming off a three-game sweep of the Angels in Anaheim, Calif. They slipped to 7-6 against Minnesota.
In his first four August starts, Deduno went 0-3 with a 5.96 ERA. He gave up 29 hits and 15 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings. One of the losses came against the Indians in Cleveland.
• Twins-Indians boxscore | Scoreboard | Standings
The Indians and their slump-ridden offense can make any opposing pitcher look good these days. On a nine-game trip that ended Sunday, they batted .222 (73-for-329) with 38 runs. They were 6-for-31 against Deduno and two relievers.
Two of the Tribe's best hitters, Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley, are searching. Kipnis is in an 0-for-19 skid, dropping his average to .283. Brantley's 0-for-20 has dropped his average to .274.
The Indians wasted a quality start by Ubaldo Jimenez, who allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. Jimenez walked three and struck out 10.
"I think it's the best stuff he's had all year,'' Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He was really good. He competed like crazy.''
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Chuck Crow/Plain DealerJimenez (9-8, 3.95 ERA) has worked six-plus innings in just nine of 25 starts, but he continues to keep his club in games. He has given up three or fewer earned runs in 20 starts.
The Indians squandered an opportunity in the fourth. Trailing, 2-1, they put runners on first and second with one out, Asdrubal Cabrera grounded into a 1-6-3 double play.
Deduno's wildness created another opening in the sixth. Michael Bourn walked and stole second. Nick Swisher walked. Kipnis failed to execute a sacrifice bunt in two attempts and took a third strike.
"Kip's a very good bunter,'' Francona said. "He just didn't get that one down.''
Among the reasons Francona had asked Kipnis to sacrifice: At the time, Kipnis was 1-for-11 with six strikeouts against Deduno.
Carlos Santana, a left-handed batter who was 2-for-2 to that point, got ahead in the count, 2-0. On the third pitch, Bourn and Swisher raced for third and second, respectively. Catcher Chris Herrmann erased Bourn with room to spare.
Santana walked. Brantley grounded out.
"Bourny has the green light,'' Francona said. "I like when he runs, and I was OK with him going there. He didn't get a really good jump. That happens sometimes.''
Bourn accepted full responsibility, saying "it was all me. And that was on me.''
Jimenez escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the first. Brian Dozier walked and moved to third on Herrmann's double to left. Herrmann subbed for one of the game's best hitters, Joe Mauer, who is on the disabled list because of concussion-like symptoms. Justin Morneau walked on five pitches.
With Josh Willingham in a 2-1 count, Jimenez threw a pitch that appeared to be a strike but was called a ball by umpire John Hirschbeck. Willingham also took the next pitch, a curve; Hirschbeck rang him up this time. Ryan Doumit struck out swinging at an off-speed pitch and Trevor Plouffe swung through a fastball.
"I don't know if he got mad or what, but he reared back and competed,'' Francona said of his right-hander.
Jimenez said: “Yeah, I was mad. You don’t want to get yourself into that position, especially in the first inning. It got me going, being able to finish the inning without letting any runs score.”
The successful high-wire act came at a cost: Jimenez threw 29 pitches.
The Indians rode the momentum to a 1-0 lead in their half. Bourn led off with a single to right. With two outs, Bourn advanced to second on Deduno's wild pitch and scored on Santana's single past diving first baseman Morneau. Santana reached second on another wild pitch before Brantley grounded out.
The Twins refused to let Jimenez off the hook for a second straight inning. They scored twice in the second.
Clete Thomas doubled to left. After Wilkin Ramirez struck out, Pedro Florimon ripped an RBI double to center. Florimon scooted to third on a wild pitch and stayed there momentarily when Dozier struck out swinging. Herrmann, doing his best Mauer imitation, doubled to right-center to drive in Florimon. Morneau struck out swinging on Jimenez's 53rd pitch.
So, to review: All of Minnesota's outs through two innings were via the strikeout, and all came with at least one runner in scoring position.
Jimenez set down the sides in order in the third, fourth and fifth. His whiff of Morneau to end the fifth gave him 13 career double-digit strikeout games. His season-high for strikeouts had been nine.
Jimenez retired 11 straight before Doumit notched Minnesota's first single, which occurred with one out in the sixth. Doumit moved to second on a grounder. Thomas walked, but Jimenez bowed his neck and got Ramirez to fly to center on his 114th pitch.
The game got away from the Indians in the seventh. Willingham's two-out, two-run double against Cody Allen made it 4-1. Allen was the third reliever to pitch in the inning.
The Twins scored once in the eighth against Matt Albers.
