Talbot ejected in Tribe’s loss to Yankees

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Mitch Talbot was almost keeping up with Bartolo Colon, holding the Yankees to two runs in the sixth inning when he slipped while delivering a pitch and everything came apart.

His two-seam fastball went right into Alex Rodriguez’s backside, and Talbot was sent to the showers almost as quickly in Cleveland’s 4-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday.

A day after the teams’ benches cleared when Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch, Talbot was tossed immediately by plate umpire Dan Iassogna after hitting Rodriguez.

“I mean this guy was throwing a great game. A 2-0 ballgame,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “It was baffling to me that [Iassogna] made that decision.”

Talbot and Acta protested that Talbot didn’t do it intentionally — even though it was shortly after Granderson homered, and Rodriguez’s first at-bat since he went deep himself.

Talbot said he told Iassogna that he slipped on the wet mound. A fine mist fell all afternoon.

I told him it’s wet. There’s a big hole in there,” Talbot said “I kind of landed on the side, slid in.”

Added Talbot: “[Iassogna] said ‘You slipped at the wrong time.”’

It was the sixth time a Yankees batter has been hit this homestand. Both Girardi and Rodriguez described the plunking as “fishy.”

“When is the right time to slip? With anybody else at the plate?” Acta said. “I mean so anybody else would have gotten it and no problem. I felt that that was uncalled for.”

Injustice or not, the Indians have bigger problems. They have lost 13 of 17, still clinging to first place in the AL Central for one more day, at least.

They got the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the eighth, but David Robertson struck out Michael Brantley, Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore to end the threat.

“It’s disappointing,” Acta said. “We had a couple of guys on. We had the right people up, guys that are swinging the bat good. We weren’t able to push one across. That’s the way things been going for us.”

Colon (5-3) kept that from happening on Saturday. Famously traded in 2002 by the Indians for three minor leaguers who went on to become All-Stars, was working on a gem against his first big league team. He limped off in the top of the seventh after retiring Shin-Soo Choo covering first base.

The Yankees said Colon strained his left hamstring. He struck out six over 62/3 innings to win for the third straight start after two losses in his previous five. He lowered his ERA to 3.10, best among the Yankees’ starters.