Bucs rally, beat bumbling Indians

By PAUL HOYNES

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

pittsburgh

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. Garrett Jones made it 2-2 with a single to center.

The Indians took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Rafael Perez started the inning in relief of Masterson.

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.

Perez completed his day by wild-pitching the tying run home.

The Indians had runners at second and third no outs in the eighth inning but couldn’t score.

“Once you have second and third with no outs in the eighth inning and you can’t push a run across, your chances are not very good,” manager Manny Acta said. “Very poor approaches, and we didn’t get it done.”

“We weren’t able to pick up the ball and throw it to first base most of the game,” Acta said. “We didn’t execute, that’s why we lost.”

The Pirates broke the tie moments later when Jensen Lewis (2-2) walked Andrew 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.

Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 17 opportunities after Brendan Donnelly (3-1) retired three consecutive batters with runners on second and third in the eighth.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.