Justin Masterson lost his 11th straight decision Monday night. Now the question is how much longer the Indians will keep him in the starting rotation.
UPDATED: 11:19 p.m.
One of the few bright moments for the Indians Monday night was when Lou Marson took Shin-Soo Choo's throw from right field and tagged out a sliding Andruw Jones for the final out of the ninth inning. Jones attempted to score from second on a single by Omar Vizquel.• Kerry Wood hopes to match success of Tony Sipp, Chris Perez: Indians Insider
• Box score | Photo gallery CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Justin Masterson has a good attitude about the streak. It's the kind of attitude you'd like your son or daughter to have if they were entangled in a similar situation.
"The streak doesn't really bother me," said Masterson. "It's just not pitching as well as we'd like to that preys on the mind."
That being said, with Masterson losing his 11th straight decision Monday night in the Indians' 7-2 loss to Chicago, this thing is getting annoying.
Five of the Indians' 16 victories this season have come against Chicago. Monday, with their favorite mark in town, they were out of contention in the top of the first. The White Sox scored four runs on four hits as Masterson needed 44 pitches to get the first three outs of the game.
It's the same old story with Masterson: lefties pounded him and he had an inconsistent release point. Lefties, who came into the game hitting .360 (32-for-83), went 4-for-5 in the first. In his four innings of work, Chicago's lefties went 7-for-12.
Masterson (0-5, 6.13) is the fifth Indians pitcher to have a losing streak of 11 or more. Guy Morton and Rod Nichols each lost 13 straight. Morton's season of regret came in 1914. Nichols lost 13 straight from 1989-91. Steve Hargan lost 11 straight from 1971-72 and Fausto Carmona lost 11 straight from 2006-07.
The 6-6 Masterson has not won since Aug. 20, 2009 against the Angels. The streak encompasses 16 starts. In those 16 starts, the Indians have scored 36 runs, an average of 2.3 per game, so they haven't overwhelmed him with support.
"At times it's been tough luck," said Masterson. "At times it's been good hitters. At other times, it's me not pitching as well as I'd like."
When asked if Masterson would stay in the rotation, manager Manny Acta said, "We'll see. When we make that decision, it won't be a knee-jerk reaction right after the game."
Aaron Laffey relieved Masterson and allowed one run on two hits in three innings. Asked if Laffey was a candidate to replace Masterson, Acta said "Anyone in an Indians uniform is an option. Does that narrow it down for you?"
“At times it’s been tough luck,” said Masterson of a losing streak that has reached 11. “At times it’s been good hitters. At other times, it’s me not pitching as well as I’d like.”
When the Indians acquired Masterson from Boston last year, they made him a starter. He'd bounced between the Red Sox's rotation and bullpen.
Manager Ozzie Guillen opened with five lefties, including switch-hitter Omar Vizquel, in his lineup. Four hit safely in the first.
Lefties Juan Pierre and A.J. Pierzynski opened with singles to put runners at the corners. Pierre scored on Alex Rios' force play at second. Rios stole second, but third baseman Jhonny Peralta threw out Paul Konerko at first on a nice play for the second out.
Mark Kotsay made it 2-0 with a double that scored Rios. After Andruw Jones walked, Mark Teahen doubled to make it 4-0.
"Justin had very poor command and made us play catch-up baseball," said Acta. "He'd been doing a better job against lefties in his last two starts, but he was getting under the ball and it was leaking out over the plate against those lefties."
Masterson came back with two scoreless innings after the first, but wild-pitched a run home in the fourth to make it 5-0. It was his third wild pitch of the game.
The Indians didn't do much against left-hander John Danks (4-3, 2.37). Lou Marson singled and Jason Donald doubled off the left-field wall to start the third. Danks stranded them by getting Trevor Crowe to bounce back to the mound, striking out Shin-Soo Choo and retiring Austin Kearns on a fly ball to right.
Russell Branyan singled and Peralta doubled to start the fourth. Once again the next batter, Mark Grudzielanek, bounced back to the mound. Matt LaPorta's grounder scored Branyan and Marson's single scored Peralta, but that was the extent of the offense.
Vizquel, the former Indian, started at short. He singled in the fifth inning to tie him with Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio for the second-most hits ever by a shortstop with 2,674. Derek Jeter is the all-time leader with 2,782.