Indians drop sixth in last 7 games
Asdrubal Cabrera #13 of the Cleveland Indians reacts after being hit by a pitch during the third inning. (June 8, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Their home-field magic has disappeared, vanishing almost as unexpectedly as it arrived. The timely, two-out hits are dropping for the other guys now.
For two months, the Cleveland Indians were baseball's biggest surprise. Now, they're shocked.
"What comes around goes around," Indians manager Manny Acta said.
Cleveland lost for the sixth time in seven games Wednesday as Ben Revere's two-out RBI single in the 10th inning off closer Chris Perez gave the coming-to-life Minnesota Twins a 3-2 win over the slumping Indians, who can't seem to shake free of their June swoon.
The Indians, who were once 14-2 at Progressive Field, went 1-6 on their homestand, losing four straight to Texas and two of three to Minnesota, which has the majors' worst record.
"Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong," Acta said.
After Drew Butera doubled with two outs off Perez (2-2), Revere flared his base hit into shallow left. Butera scored sliding ahead of outfielder Michael Brantley's one-hop throw that skipped past catcher Lou Marson, helping the last-place Twins take the series and win for the sixth time in seven games.
Grady Sizemore homered for the Indians, who have lost six of seven and are just 2-6 this month. The Indians are 1-for-40 since June 2 with runners in scoring position.
Orioles 3, Athletics 2: Rookie Zach Britton (6-4) took a four-hitter into the seventh inning and Mark Reynolds homered as host Baltimore completed a three-game sweep.
It was the ninth consecutive loss for Oakland, which scored only four runs in the series and never held a lead.
Phillies 2, Dodgers 0: Cole Hamels (8-2) struck out nine in eight strong innings and Ryan Howard homered to lift host Philadelphia.
Cubs 4, Reds 1: Carlos Peña and Aramis Ramirez hit home runs on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning to back Ryan Dempster (5-5) as visiting Chicago snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Giants 3, Nationals 1: Matt Cain (5-4) struck out 11 in his first complete game of the season and also hit an RBI double for host San Francisco.
Rockies 5, Padres 3: Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run double off Heath Bell (2-2) with one out in the ninth inning as visiting Colorado took two of three in the series.
Northrup dies
Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Jim Northrup, who hit a decisive two-run triple in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series, died. He was 71.
Longtime friend Bill Wischman said Northrup died after having a seizure at an assisted living facility in Grand Blanc, Mich. -- AP
