The Indians did some good things Sunday against the Rays, but mostly they were bad. It was a recipe for a 4-2 loss to the AL East powerhouse Rays.
CLEVELAND - When a manager goes out to the mound to remove a pitcher, several things can take place. The pitcher, if he follows protocol, waits to the manager get to the mound, hands him the ball and walks to the dugout after a slap on the back from the manager.
If a pitcher doesn't follow protocol, which can happen when said pitcher hasn't pitched well, he may leave the mound before the manager arrives and flip him the ball as they pass each other. Double secret probation usually follows.
In the Indians' 4-2 loss to the Rays on Sunday at Progressive Field, when manager Manny Acta went out to get starter Justin Masterson in the seventh inning, he put his hands on the 6-6 Masterson's shoulders and talked to him. Then he talked some more before Masterson headed to the dugout with a slap on the back.
"I said, 'I know you're not trying to walk a guy,' " said Acta. "There's a lesson to be learned. When there are two out and nobody on, we need to start smelling blood and go after a guy. He understood that. That pretty much cost him the great outing he had today."
In the second, with the Indians leading, 1-0, Masterson (3-9, 5.15) retired the first two batters on ground balls to second. It was five Rays up and five Rays down.
Then Masterson walked switch hitter Willy Aybar. John Jaso singled and No. 8 hitter Reid Brignac hit a three-run homer to right for a 3-1 lead.
For Acta, it was deja vu all over again.
In Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Rays, a loss that ended the Indians' 18-game home winning streak against manager Joe Maddon's club, Mitch Talbot had a 3-0 lead entering the fifth. He retired the first two batters, gave up singles to Kelly Shoppach and Jason Bartlett and a three-run homer to Ben Zobrist.
"The last two games were pretty much the same," said Acta. "We lost the game in one inning where we gave up three runs after two outs and nobody on."
There were plenty of other factors involved in the Tribe's 57th defeat of the year.
The Indians went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, which negated the fact that they out-hit the Rays, 11-7.
"We had one hit with runners in scoring position, that's why we lost," said right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.
Added Acta, "Offensively, we were horrible."
In the past four games, the Indians are 1-for-27 with runners in scoring position.
The base running left something to be desired as well. In the second, with Travis Hafner on third, Jayson Nix on second and one out, Andy Marte sent a grounder to the hole at short. Hafner scored to make it 3-2, but Nix was thrown out trying to advance to third.
In the seventh, Michael Brantley reached on a fielder's choice. Asdrubal Cabrera singled to right, but Brantley stopped at second. If he had continued to third, Choo's grounder to second would have scored him.
"We thought we had a chance to take another extra base and we didn't," said Acta. "That's what we're trying to do here. We want to be aggressive. . . . Anytime we can get a guy on third base with less than two outs, we've got to go for it."
Hafner had four straight hits out of the No. 6 spot. It was his first four-hit game since April 23, 2007. None of them came with a runner on base.
Acta needs Hafner to keep hitting to give rookie cleanup hitter Carlos Santana protection. It was Santana's sacrifice fly that gave the Indians a 1-0 lead in the first.
"We need Hafner in the middle of our lineup," said Acta. "We just need the consistency."
The Indians missed a chance to tie in the seventh. With Brantley on third and Cabrera on second following a ground out by Choo, Santana sent a ball between first and second at the Tampa shift. Brignac, playing short right field, made a nice play on the ball and threw Santana out to end the inning.
"We got beat with pitching and defense," said Acta.
Wade Davis (8-9, 4.32) went 61/3 innings for the win. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 26th save.