Fausto Carmona gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in his shortest outing of the season.
UPDATED: 12:16 a.m.
Alex Rodriguez didn't get his 600th home run on Wednesday, but he did have a brief possession of second base after dislodging the bag on his sixth-inning double at Progressive Field. Rodriguez also had an RBI single in the first inning of the Yankees' 8-0 victory.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One start after possessing arguably his best stuff of the season, Indians right-hander Fausto Carmona dropped his compass somewhere between the dugout and the mound Wednesday night.
Carmona gave up seven runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings as the Tribe lost to the Yankees, 8-0, at Progressive Field. The Yankees improved baseball's best record to 64-36. They are 46-26 all-time at Progressive Field.
A.J. Burnett, who has been awful on the road for most of the season, allowed seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Two relievers combined to give up one hit.
Not all went swimmingly for New York. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a double but failed to blast career homer No. 600. Captain Derek Jeter somehow did not scratch out a hit, finishing 0-for-5 as all of his starting teammates notched at least one.
The Indians (42-59) were blanked for the ninth time and have scored 14 runs in their last seven games, going 3-for-52 with runners in scoring position.
Carmona struggled through by far the worst of his 21 starts this season. His lowest innings total in a game had been four. The hits and earned runs allowed are a season high.
Asked what happened, Carmona said: “You know what happened. I gave up a lot of hits.”
Carmona had worked at least six innings and given up fewer than three earned in 15 starts. One of the occasions he did not do so was July 23 against Tampa Bay -- but only because of a protracted rain delay. Carmona gave up one hit and one unearned run in five innings, walked one and struck out seven.
The Rays, chasing New York in the AL East, must be wondering what happened to the filth. Their hitters would not have recognized Carmona five days later.
“For some reason, everything he threw was hard,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “There wasn’t much difference between the fastball and the change-up. His sinker was up, and his secondary pitches weren’t very effective. That’s the wrong lineup to face when your pitches aren’t working for you.”
The support of catcher Carlos Santana and the advice of pitching coach Tim Belcher couldn't provide much help for Fausto Carmona on Wednesday.Rodriguez made it 1-0 in the first with a single to drive in Mark Teixeira. It was the Yankees' first hit with runners in scoring position in the series; they had been 0-for-10 in the first two games.
New York pulled ahead, 4-0, in the second. Brett Gardner had an RBI single and Teixeira a two-out, two-run single. Rodriguez followed with a popout on Carmona's 52nd pitch.
“I had more energy than usual,” Carmona said. “In the second inning, I tried to slow down but couldn’t.”
The Yankees knocked out Carmona in the third.
Robinson Cano led off with a double to left and moved to third on Jorge Posada's grounder. Curtis Granderson tripled to deep center.
Carmona plunked Francisco Cervelli and gave up an RBI double to Gardner. Jeter grounded into a fielder's choice, Cervelli cut down at home by first baseman Matt LaPorta. Nick Swisher picked up Jeter with a single to drive in Gardner, prompting Indians manager Manny Acta to hook Carmona for Hector Ambriz.
Carmona (10-8) suffered an ERA rise from 3.51 to 3.92. In his previous start against the Yankees this season, he gave up four earned in six innings of an 8-2 loss in the Bronx.
Robinson Cano homered in the fourth off Ambriz.
Rodriguez kept most fans in their seats the remainder of the night as he attempted to reach the homer milestone. But after Carmona kept him in the yard twice and Ambriz struck him out, Jess Todd and Frank Herrmann held him in check.
Rodriguez's at-bat against Herrmann in the eighth was memorable. He worked the count full before popping to shallow right on the 10th pitch.
“That was cool,” Herrmann said. “It was a long at-bat and pretty intense. You could hear the Yankee fans yelling, ’Let’s go, A-Rod,’ and the Indians fans booing on top of them.”
In the top of the eighth, Luis Valbuena entered at second base for the Tribe. He struck out in the bottom of the inning. Valbuena hustled up from Class AAA Columbus after being promoted to take the roster spot of Jhonny Peralta. The Indians traded Peralta to Detroit for a minor-league pitcher Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday's first pitch was delayed 42 minutes because of rain.