CLEVELAND – Fausto Carmona took the mound as an All-Star on Sunday at Progressive Field. Then, he took the loss.
Despite pitching well enough to receive a better fate, Carmona was on the losing end of a 3-1 victory by the A’s. A lack of run support against Oakland’s unheralded Vin Mazzaro was at the root of the setback.
“Fausto gave us another quality start,” manager Manny Acta said of the right-hander, who allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings. “Mazzaro was just tough on us. We couldn’t do anything against him.”
Cleveland scored just once in 71/3 innings against Mazzaro, who allowed seven hits and struck out seven. The innings count and strikeout total were season highs for the right-hander, who retired 11 of the 12 hitters from the fourth inning through the seventh.
Carmona walked the first batter of the game, then allowed a run on a passed ball and two groundouts.
The Indians tied the game in the third on three two-out singles, the last by Austin Kearns. Oakland took the lead for good on an RBI single from Mark Ellis in the fourth.
Carmona allowed a leadoff homer to Adam Rosales but was able to finish the seventh inning, providing the Indians with his 13th quality start in 17 outings this season.
Though it would have been understandable, Carmona said he had no trouble maintaining his composure after being notified that he had been selected to his first All-Star Game.
“Manny told me before the game but I didn’t think about that,” said Carmona, who fell to 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA. “I was thinking about my game and winning. We didn’t win but I’m happy with how I pitched.”
The Indians, who outhit Oakland 8-7, managed just two hits over the final five innings against Mazarro, Jerry Blevins and closer Andrew Bailey.
Jhonny Peralta singled with one out in the ninth inning off Bailey, but was erased when Matt LaPorta bounced into a game-ending double play.
Though his team won just one of the two series it played on the homestand, sweeping Toronto before losing two of three to Oakland, Acta was pleased with the performance.
“It was a very good homestand,” he said. “Very few times do you split two series and call it a good homestand, but 5-2, I’ll take that.”
Derailed by another slow start to the season and injuries that claimed two of their top players – shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and center fielder Grady Sizemore – for the majority of the first half, the Indians reached the midway point of the year at 32-49.
It is the same record as last season.
“When we left Arizona, we weren’t anticipating what is going on,” Acta said of the injuries to Cabrera, Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. “I think our starting pitching has exceeded the expectations on them. The offense has been another story with two of our best hitters injured for most of the first half, and now another one.
“It’s been good to watch some of these kids develop up here.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
