Justin Masterson's high-wire act Sunday had Indians manager Manny Acta smiling and shaking his head.
Justin Masterson threw more balls (51) than strikes (49) in his six innings of work on Sunday. But he allowed just one hit to the Mariners and worked out of enough jams to keep the Indians in a game that they eventually won, 9-1.INDIANS CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: Monday at midnight is the MLB deadline to sign draft picks.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Indians had signed 20 of their 50 selections, including seven of their first 15. The top four, though, are unsigned: left-hander Drew Pomeranz, outfielder LeVon Washington, shortstop Tony Wolters and right-hander Kyle Blair.
The Indians are negotiating with No. 8 pick Alex Lavisky, the catcher from St. Edward High School. Lavisky has a scholarship to Georgia Tech.
Teams that don’t sign their first- or second-round picks will be compensated the following year with an extra pick in almost the same spot in that round. If they don’t sign their third-round pick, they will receive a compensation pick between the third and fourth rounds.
Book worm: Indians closer Chris Perez is reading former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s book, “Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA.”
In August 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to allegations that he bet on games and made calls affecting point spreads. He served prison time and was released in November 2009.
“The book makes you think,” Perez said. “It’s very enlightening. I believe what he writes. Why would he lie? He’s already lost everything. And the specifics he gives are hard to dispute.”
Power shortage: The lineups at first pitch Sunday featured just two players with double-digit homers for their respective clubs — Seattle center fielder Franklin Gutierrez (10) and Cleveland right fielder Shin-Soo Choo (14). Seattle designated hitter Russell Branyan, who has five with his current team, hit 10 for the Tribe before being traded in June.
The Tribe’s Travis Hafner and Jayson Nix each hit his 10th homer Sunday afternoon.
Stat of the day: Hafner owns two of the Indians’ four grand slams this year.
-- Dennis Manoloff
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Justin Masterson's high-wire act Sunday had Indians manager Manny Acta smiling and shaking his head.
Masterson allowed no runs on one hit in six innings despite throwing more balls (51) than strikes (49). He received a no-decision in the Tribe's 9-1 victory over the Mariners.
"This is the greatest game ever," Acta said. "When you think you've seen it all, you continue to see new things. I don't think I've ever seen a guy go six scoreless, give up one hit, and throw more balls than strikes."
Masterson walked six and struck out three. He is the first Indian since Rick Waits in 1979 to work at least six shutout innings while allowing one hit and walking six or more.
"It just shows you the kind of stuff Justin has," Acta said. "Even when he puts people on bases, if he throws the ball over the plate, he has a chance to get people out."
Masterson walked the first two batters of the game, Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins, on nine pitches.
"It was kind of scary," Acta said. "The guys in the bullpen were thinking they would get a call in the first inning."
Against the Yankees, Masterson might have been toast. Given that this was offensively challenged Seattle, he had a sinkerballer's chance. Russell Branyan was caught looking at a 2-2 fastball on the inside corner, Jose Lopez flied to center and Franklin Gutierrez grounded to third.
Masterson did not give up a hit until Casey Kotchman doubled to center to lead off the fifth. It was the first hit of the game, Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez having matched zeroes.
Adam Moore walked. When Michael Saunders bunted back to the mound on a 2-1 pitch, Masterson whirled and threw to third baseman Luis Valbuena for the force. Chris Woodward walked, bringing hitting machine Suzuki to the plate.
Suzuki ripped a 2-0 pitch that appeared ticketed for a three-run double into the right-field corner -- until Matt LaPorta snared it with a dive toward the line.
"With Felix on the mound, [the game] could have ended right there," Acta said. "LaPorta saved the day for us."
Figgins followed with a drag-bunt toward LaPorta, who tagged Figgins in front of the bag. Or did he? Figgins and personnel in the Mariners' dugout argued with umpire Todd Tichenor that Figgins had avoided the tag. TV replays appeared to show that LaPorta's glove grazed Figgins' flapping uniform top, which shed light on why Figgins thought he was safe.
"Our guys played some great defense," Masterson said.
Tony Sipp relieved Masterson to begin the seventh. Sipp earned the victory when the Indians erupted for seven in their half of the seventh. Rafael Perez, Joe Smith and Chris Perez also pitched for Cleveland.
"I had a lot of movement on the sinker and the slider, and I wasn't going to give in," Masterson said. "I was never like, 'Man, I can't find the zone.' I threw a lot of close pitches, then moved on to the next guy."
Masterson's record remained 4-11 as his ERA dropped to 5.23. He has 66 walks in 139 1/3 innings of 24 starts.
"He's a big guy who at times struggles to find his release point," Acta said. "He has a lot of body parts moving all over the place. It's tough for him some days, and this was one of those days. But hey, he gave us six shutout innings."
Masterson has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 starts.
Hard luck: Hernandez gave up six runs -- all unearned -- on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out seven. The Indians scored seven runs in the seventh after an error by Seattle second baseman Figgins with two outs.
The baseball definition of a quality start is six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs. That means Hernandez added to his American League-leading total, which sits at 23.
Hernandez is 8-10 with a 2.62 ERA. The Mariners have scored 10 runs in his losses.
Brantley heating up: Michael Brantley was 2-for-4 with a homer and is hitting .375 (9-for-24) in his last six games.
Mariners Lite: Because Seattle only comes to town once, and the trip occurred in August, Tribe fans lost out on seeing two big names who were active with the club earlier in the season.
Ken Griffey Jr. broke camp with Seattle, but that was about as good as it got for him and the franchise in 2010. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer batted .184 in 33 games before announcing his retirement.
Lefty Cliff Lee, who won the AL Cy Young with the Tribe in 2008, began the season on the disabled list. He did not debut with the Mariners until May. He was traded to Texas in July.
The Rangers visited Progressive Field before Lee went to Texas, meaning Tribe fans have not seen Lee at Progressive Field since he was traded to Philadelphia on July 29, 2009.
Another Mariners notable, outfielder Milton Bradley, is on the disabled list because of right-knee tendinitis. He will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday in Cincinnati. He is traveling with the team.
Bradley played for the Tribe from 2001-03, the tenure ending in a feud with manager Eric Wedge.