The Indians continue to be cautious with Matt LaPorta, who suffered a head injury in Monday's game. He was held out of his second straight game Wednesday against Texas.
UPDATED: 11:37 p.m.
Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus stretches out to catch a pop fly hit by the Indians' Travis Hafner during the fourth inning of Thursday's game at Arlington, Texas.INDIANS CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: Manny Acta defended Fausto Carmona’s trip to the All-Star Game despite a 7-7 record and 3.69 ERA in 16 starts.
“A lot of people will look at his numbers,” said Acta. “They might not look very pretty for an All-Star, but this is not golf. This is a team effort and he’s done his part.
“You can’t blame him. For the first month and a half or so of the season, if we had played better baseball behind him, or gave him more run support, he could be sitting here with 11 or 12 wins. Who knows?”
Slam time: The Yankees have hit nine grand slams this year. It’s the most ever hit by a team before the All-Star break.
Three other teams, according to Elias, had eight before the break: the 2000 A’s, the 2005 Red Sox and the 2006 Indians.
Stat of the day: The average age of the players on the Indians’ 25-man roster is 27.89 years. It’s the second youngest roster in the big leagues next to Arizona, which has an average age of 27.70.
— Paul Hoynes
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Matt LaPorta, one of the Indians' hottest hitters, was out of the lineup for the second straight game Wednesday following a collision at first base Monday.
It's not certain when LaPorta will play again. Manager Manny Acta said "it's in the hands of the medical team. We want to give him as much time as is needed."
Trainer Lonnie Soloff said the Indians have to do "serial" testing on LaPorta to make sure he didn't suffer a concussion after getting accidentally elbowed in the head by Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus. LaPorta was temporarily rendered unconscious on the play.
"I feel fine," said LaPorta before Wednesday's game, "but with a head injury you have to be cautious."
LaPorta went through one test Tuesday. He said he was going to go through some aerobic testing Wednesday to raise his heart rate and blood pressure to see how he responded.
The Indians open a four-game series against Tampa Bay Thursday night at Tropicana Field. LaPorta might not be cleared to play until Friday or Saturday. He's hitting .333 (10-for-30) with four homers and nine RBI since being recalled from Class AAA Columbus on June 27.
Andy Marte started at first base for the second straight night in LaPorta's absence.
After the fall: Firefighter Tyler Morris was listed in "fair condition" at John Peter Hospital on Wednesday after falling out of the second deck Tuesday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Morris, from Crawford, Texas, suffered a fractured skull and ankle in the fall, according to MLB.com.
Morris was trying to catch a foul ball in the fifth inning when he lost his balance and fell over the rail. He tried to catch himself on the luxury box below the second deck, but was unsuccessful.
Four other people were injured when Morris landed in the seats behind the Texas dugout. Play was stopped for 16 minutes as paramedics tended to Morris and took him to the hospital, which is in Fort Worth.
Rangers President Nolan Ryan visited Morris on Wednesday morning. He told MLB.com that Morris was a "lifelong Ranger" fan and was in good spirits. Ryan gave Morris the foul ball he was trying to catch off the bat of Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz. A fan gave it to an usher who passed it along to the Rangers.
"He was thrilled to get [the baseball] as much as anything," Ryan told MLB.com. The four people injured in Morris' fall were treated at the ballpark.
SportsTime Ohio, which carries Indians games, filmed Morris' fall, but chose not to show it.
Ryan said the rails on the upper deck meet code specifications.
Good find: Jayson Nix, claimed on waivers on June 24 from the White Sox, hit his fifth homer as an Indian in the fourth inning Wednesday. The homer came in his 40th at-bat with Cleveland, meaning he's hitting a homer every eight at-bats.
Somebody should call Cooperstown if Nix continues that pace, but he's certainly put himself in the Indians' plans. Perhaps they've found a starting second baseman if Jason Donald, Luis Valbuena, Cord Phelps and Jason Kipnis aren't ready or need more time in the minors.
Nix might also be an alternative at third base depending if/when the Indians and Jhonny Peralta part company.
Scouting report: Here's what Jeff Johnson, head baseball coach at Chipola Junior College, had to say about LeVon Washington, the Indians' second-round pick in the June draft.
"Jose Bautista played here and I think LeVon has more ability than him," said Johnson. "I think he can be an All-Star."
Bautista is currently leading the AL with 21 homers for Toronto.
"Levon has great bat speed and running ability," said Johnson. "This was his first year in center field and his routes and jumps really improved toward the end of the year. He's still raw to the game. He hasn't played that much baseball."
Tampa Bay drafted Washington last year in the first round, but he didn't sign. The Indians have until Aug. 16 to sign him.
Finally: In the first two games of the Indians-Texas series, seven batters were hit by pitches. Austin Kearns was hit three times Monday. "We don't have any animosity with them," said Acta. "We get a long just fine. Kearns was hit three times, but two of them barely grazed him." Acta said three players were hit on the foot with breaking balls. "You have to have really good command of a breaking ball to hit a guy in a foot," said Acta, tongue-in-cheek. "You must not have anything to write about. You know there's a lot of oil in the ocean."