CLEVELAND – Indians third baseman Jhonny Peralta has mirrored his team’s start to the season, which means he hasn’t been very good.
Peralta, who is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, is hitting a paltry .148 (4-for-27) with a home run and four RBIs in eight games. He is riding an 0-for-8 skid at the plate and doesn’t have a hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Peralta has even added some defensive struggles to the mix, committing two of the Indians’ three errors on the year, both of them coming on throws to first base.
He has been the sore spot for an otherwise near-flawless fielding unit through nine games, though Cleveland manager Manny Acta sees otherwise.
“We’ve been good defensively and Jhonny has been good defensively for us,” Acta said. “It just so happens, that he has committed two of the three errors. But he’s made some good plays over there. We’re not worried about Jhonny, defensively.”
This is Peralta’s first full season as Cleveland’s starter at third after being bumped from shortstop by Asdrubal Cabrera in the middle of last year. Both player and manager said this spring that they believed Peralta had turned the page on his shortstop days.
That wasn’t the case in 2009, as Peralta struggled to adapt to his new position. It affected him at the plate, where he batted just .254 with 11 home runs. The home run total was the lowest in six seasons for the franchise leader in homers by a shortstop.
Russ Bus stop?
It appears Russell Branyan is nearing activation from the disabled list.
The Indians’ projected starting first baseman, who missed all of the exhibition season with a herniated disk in his lower back, had his rehab assignment transferred from Triple-A Columbus to Double-A Akron — closer to Cleveland.
Branyan was at Progressive Field on Thursday, moving into his locker in the home clubhouse.
In four rehab games for Columbus, Branyan went 4-for-14 with two doubles and an RBI.
It would not be surprising to see him activated before the end of the week.
Minor detail
At 7-0 entering Thursday, Single-A Lake County was the only unbeaten team in the minor leagues. The Captains have gotten a lift from outfielder Bo Greenwell, the son of former big leaguer, Mike Greenwell. He was batting .440 (11-for-25) with eight runs and five stolen bases in seven games through Wednesday.
Cleveland’s minor league affiliates entered Thursday with a combined 20-8 record – tops in the majors.
Next up
The Indians and White Sox quickly rekindle their Central Division rivalry with a three-game series at Progressive Field that begins tonight at 7:05.
Mitch Talbot (0-1, 7.20 ERA) takes on Sox ace Mark Buehrle (2-0, 2.40) in the series opener, with Jake Westbrook (0-1, 7.45) going against RHP Jake Peavy (0-0, 8.44) Saturday (4:10 p.m.). Fausto Carmona (1-0, 3.21) pitches the series finale Sunday (1:05 p.m.), while Chicago counters with RHP Gavin Floyd (0-1, 4.50).
The Indians took two of three games from the White Sox in Chicago to open the season.
Roundin’ third
The Indians snapped a seven-game home losing skid to Texas, beating the Rangers for just the second time in the last 12 games overall. … Cabrera snapped an 0-for-15 skid at the plate with a single in the fifth inning. … Former Indian Ryan Garko was in the lineup for Texas, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He is without a hit in four games (seven at-bats) this season. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WEOL 930-AM/WTAM 1100-AM.
