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Masterson's outing spoiled by Tribe 'pen
Herrmann gives up decisive ninth-inning homer to White Sox
By John Barone / MLB.com
09/01/10 12:28 AM ET
CLEVELAND -- It was a night that gave the Indians hope for their future.It also reminded them of their present, a 2010 season that has offered both promise and disappointment.
For 7 2/3 innings Tuesday night, Justin Masterson threw like the pitcher the Tribe thought it acquired from the Red Sox last summer. But with Masterson's performance also came faulty showings from relievers Joe Smith and Frank Herrmann, who combined to surrender three ninth-inning runs in the Indians' 4-3 loss to the White Sox at Progressive Field.
On this night, Cleveland manager Manny Acta chose to look beyond the final score.
"I'm extremely proud of these guys," Acta said. "We're facing a team that was in first place and is battling for the division title, and these guys, some of them playing for the first time in the big leagues, just continue to put up a fight."
Masterson put up the strongest fight, yielding a run on four hits and striking out seven in a crisp 102-pitch outing.
For the 25-year-old righty, Tuesday's success simply came down to execution.
"I had the ability to throw strikes when I needed to," Masterson said.
After the Tribe absorbed an 11-inning loss Monday, his team needed him to do just that.
"It was an outstanding effort, especially considering the state of our bullpen right now," Acta said. "He really saved us."
Masterson traded zeros with White Sox starter Edwin Jackson into the bottom of the seventh, when Shelley Duncan lifted a 1-1 slider onto the left-field porch for a 344-foot solo shot.
The momentum didn't last long, as Masterson issued an eight-pitch walk to Mark Kotsay to begin the eighth.
"I wasn't missing by much," Masterson said. "There were a lot of close pitches, and he laid off of some good ones. The last [3-2 sinker] I threw was probably the worst one, but every other one before that was right there. I was close, but it was a battle that he won."
Brent Lillibridge pinch-ran for Kotsay at first base, advanced to second via Alexei Ramirez's sacrifice bunt and scored on Mark Teahen's game-tying single to center field.
Teahen's hit fell in front of center fielder Michael Brantley, whose throw home was late.
"I was hoping Teahen would hit the ball a little harder," Masterson said. "You never really ever ask for that, but maybe he could have popped it up a little higher so Brantley could have got underneath it. He just kind of floated it out to center field."
Of course, Kotsay's walk made the run possible.
"It's unfortunate that it comes back to get you," Masterson said.
Masterson wasn't the only Indians pitcher with leaky command. Smith walked two of the first three batters he faced in the ninth, then gave way to Herrmann, who faced A.J. Pierzynski with one out.
With Manny Ramirez standing in the on-deck circle as a pinch-hitter, Pierzynski launched Herrmann's 0-1 slider to deep right for a three-run home run that handed the White Sox a 4-1 edge.
"I was trying to throw a slider in the bottom of the zone, preferably in the dirt," Herrmann said. "I just made a bad pitch and left it up. He made me pay for it."
Left-handed hitters entered Tuesday batting .324 in 72 at-bats against Herrmann this season. This time, the rookie righty fell behind and couldn't recover.
"My first pitch I threw a fastball that went middle and it probably should have stayed hard," Herrmann said. "If I make a good pitch there, there's nothing to talk about.
"It's on me."
Acta had a different source of blame.
"We doomed ourselves again with the walks," Acta said. "The tying run was a walk and the go-ahead runs were both walks. Until we get better and stop putting those extra baserunners on the bases, regardless of our offense, things are not going to work in our favor consistently. We have to continue to search and to develop pitching around here if we're going to turn this thing around."
For the second consecutive game, the Indians staged a ninth-inning rally. One-out singles by Jayson Nix and Trevor Crowe brought the tying run to the plate. After Jackson struck out Andy Marte on a 1-2 changeup, he uncorked a wild pitch during Jason Donald's at-bat to advance the runners to second and third.
Donald made Jackson pay for the errant toss, punching a two-run single to center to pull the Tribe within a run.
Jackson then exited in favor of Bobby Jenks, having scattered seven hits over 8 2/3 innings of three-run ball and punched out 11.
Naturally, Jackson wanted to finish what he started.
"As a starter, you want to go as long as you can anyway," Jackson said. "Regardless of if the bullpen is fresh or beat up, you want to be on the field as long as you can, until you can't go any longer. That's the mind frame I've been going out with."
Acta called on Matt LaPorta to pinch-hit for Lou Marson against Jenks. LaPorta promptly delivered a single to left, advancing the tying run to second, but Jenks induced a game-ending groundout back to the mound by Brantley.
Like Acta, Masterson chose to look deeper than the end result on a night of highs and lows. In a season geared toward development, such an exercise has become all too common.
"You feel good and bad," Masterson said. "You feel good that you helped keep the team in the line for a victory, but of course, it's never exciting to come away with a defeat. We battled, but we came up a little short. I still like where we're at."
John Barone is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
