Tribe wins but loses Carmona to injury

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

Indians reliever Joe Smith answered the compliment with a question.

“We were the stars?” he said.

Yes. And never brighter.

Frank Herrmann took over after Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona took a tumble on Saturday, pitching three innings for his first big league win, and the rest of the Indians’ bullpen followed his lead for a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

The bullpen has been the foundation for Cleveland’s surprising season — a slim lead in the AL Central at the midpoint.

“It’s not a secret that those guys are good,” manager Manny Acta said. “We’ve got three or four guys with ERAs below 2.00.”

Good numbers indeed. So are the Indians’ numbers against their intrastate rival — 5-0, one win away from the first sweep in the interleague series’ history.

More important is the way Cleveland has started July. After going 10-17 in June, the Indians are 2-0 in the new month.

“It can’t get any worse than it got in June,” Acta said. “We’re moving forward now.”

Michael Brantley hit a three-run homer in Cleveland’s strange third inning against Homer Bailey (3-3), one that put them ahead and cost them a pitcher. Carmona fell hard while running out a grounder, leaving the game with a strained right thigh.

Carmona had bandages on his forearm and thigh, and two fingers on his pitching hand were taped together after the game. He smiled and declined to talk about his tumble, which seemed like nothing more than a blooper at first.

“The way he went out, we were kind of laughing,” Smith said. “Then we found out [he was hurt]. It stinks when your starter goes out, but our bullpen is tough.”

Herrmann (1-0) retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, a good showing considering he hadn’t pitched since June 20.

“I was definitely fresh today,” he said. “Not pitching in 11 days, it’s not easy. That’s the first time I really tried to do that in my life.”

Smith struck out Brandon Phillips with the bases loaded in the seventh, extending his streak to 19 scoreless appearances.