You've heard of the best of the best. On Sunday the worst of the worst got together when the Indians and Pirates played the rubber game of their three-game series. The Indians lost and they didn't look good doing it.
UPDATED: 6:20 p.m.
Carlos Santana was the entire Indians offense on Sunday, belting a two-run homer in the first inning and adding another RBI later in the game. But the mistake-prone Indians set up Pittsburgh for scoring chances in the first and eighth innings as the Pirates claimed a 5-3 victory at PNC Park.PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Indians were bad Sunday. So bad they lost their second straight game to a team that hasn't won that many games in a row for a month.
At least in losing to Pittsburgh, 5-3, at PNC Park the Indians were bad with a flair. Most teams with a 26-42 record would settle for general ineptitude. The Indians continue to lose with style, exploring the intricacies of defeat like few teams before them.
The question is what is Carlos Santana doing here. This guy deserves better. All the rookie catcher did Sunday was drive in all three of the Indians' runs with a first-inning, two-run homer and an RBI double in the third. When he singled in the fifth, he'd reached base in eight straight plate appearances.
"I feel very comfortable since I was called up," said Santana, with interpreter/first base coach Sandy Alomar riding shotgun.
No one else on this bumbling team looks anywhere close to comfortable. What they do well is make errors -- all kinds of errors.
They made two in the bottom of the first as the Pirates scored twice to erase Santana's second big-league homer. Third baseman Jhonny Peralta started the show by throwing away a leadoff grounder by Jose Tabata to put him on second base. Neil Walker moved Tabata to third with a single through the right side of the infield.
Andrew McCutchen sent a one-hopper back to the mound that Justin Masterson tried to beat into the ground with his glove. When he recovered the ball, he threw it past first as Tabata scored and Walker went to third. It was Masterson's second error in as many starts.
Garrett Jones made it 2-2 with a single to center.
Masterson pitched well after that, but the trauma of the first inning still hadn't worked its way out of his system. In the fourth, Bobby Crosby sent a two-out single back to the mound. Masterson picked the ball up and threw it past first baseman Russell Branyan and against the grandstand.
"I knew I didn't have a chance to get him," said Masterson, "but I was so frustrated, I just picked it up and threw the ball as hard as I could."
Crosby didn't advance because the ball bounced back to Branyan. If nothing else, Masterson's throw was an artistic success. There was more to come.
The Indians took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Rafael Perez started the inning in relief of Masterson, who allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Jason Jaramillo opened with a single. Crosby pushed a bunt in front of the plate. Perez charged, slipped and made a crazed throw to first. In fact, it wasn't even near first. It was so far off line that second baseman Jason Donald, trying to back up the play, caught it on the fly.
"It was pretty crazy," said Donald. "Out of nowhere it came to me."
Jaramillo went to second, Crosby was credited with a sacrifice bunt and Perez was charged with the Indians' third error. After another sacrifice bunt moved Jaramillo to third, Perez completed his day by wild-pitching the tying run home.
"The timing was bad on that wild pitch," understated manager Manny Acta.
The Indians had a chance to take control of the game in the eighth. Austin Kearns singled and Branyan hit a disputed double past first to start the inning. Pirates manager John Russell was ejected for arguing that Branyan's hit was foul. He didn't need to get that worked up.
Former Indian Brendan Donnelly (3-1) retired Peralta on a fly ball to center that Acta said wasn't deep enough to send Kearns. Anderson Hernandez followed with a grounder to Walker at second base. Walker looked to first to throw out Hernandez, but no one was there so he ran over and made the out himself. Again, that's not a play you see every day, but when two last-place teams play, the unexpected becomes the expected.
Donald made the last out on a slow roller to short. He was called out on close play that left him pounding his batting helmet into the dirt.
"I thought I was safe," he said.
The Pirates broke the tie moments later when Jensen Lewis (2-2) walked McCutchen to start the eighth and gave up a single to Jones. After another sacrifice bunt, Tony Sipp relieved and gave up a sacrifice fly to Pedro Alvarez and an RBI single to Crosby.
The Indians lost two out of three to Pittsburgh, a team that as of Friday had lost 12 straight and 18 of their previous 22 games. Think about that for a while.