Carrasco scuffles in Tribe loss

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Carlos Carrasco wasn’t as sharp as he was in his last outing, and it cost the Cleveland Indians.

Carrasco didn’t get through the fifth inning of Indians’ 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, snapping a four-game winning streak.

Carrasco (0-3), who pitched into the eighth against Kansas City on June 17, allowed three runs in 42/3 innings.

“Today he was missing off the plate a little bit,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “They squared up a lot of balls. To his credit, he pitched, never gave in, he limited damage. They made him work really hard.”

In his last start, Carrasco gave up only one run in 71/3 innings. He labored through Sunday’s outing, throwing 104 pitches, walking four and striking out three.

“I threw more inside today than the last time,” Carrasco said. “I just got in trouble a few times and it cost me three runs.”

Carrasco is 0-8 in 10 starts since his last win, which came on June 29, 2011, when he defeated Arizona. He missed all of last season because of elbow surgery. Carrasco also served a seven-game suspension for throwing at the New York Yankees’ Kevin Youkilis earlier this season.

Carrasco appeared to sustain an injury while throwing a pitch to Trevor Plouffe in the third. Francona and head trainer Lonnie Soloff visited Carrasco on the mound. The right-hander remained in the game and retired Plouffe on a fly ball to end the inning.

Matt Albers warmed up in the bullpen in the bottom of the inning but Carrasco returned for the fourth.

“Couldn’t tell if [the back of his leg] cramped on him or if it was kind of tugging on him a little bit,” Francona said. “Just wanted to make sure he was OK.”

It appeared the Indians got a break before the game when Twins scheduled starter Mike Pelfrey was placed on the 15-day DL with a back strain. Pedro Hernandez, who was informed Saturday night that he might be needed, drove from Louisville, Ky., where Triple-A Rochester was playing, and arrived in Cleveland at 4 a.m. Sunday. The left-hander (3-1) pitched around six walks and got the win despite throwing 45 of his 85 pitches for balls.

“This is crazy for me,” Hernandez said. “I slept three hours. But, you know, that’s part of my job. I love my job.”

Three Minnesota relievers allowed one run over the final four innings. Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

The Indians loaded the bases in the second inning with no outs and could only score one run, a sacrifice fly from Yan Gomes. Jason Kipnis added an RBI double in the third while Drew Stubbs hit a solo homer in the seventh.

Michael Bourn opened the ninth with an infield hit but Mike Aviles bounced into a double play. Jason Kipnis doubled for his third hit of the game before Nick Swisher grounded out.

“We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities. We just never really cashed in,” Francona said. “We kept getting runners on base, we just didn’t do anything with it.”

Kipnis went 3 for 4 with a walk raising his average to .283.