CLEVELAND — The Red Sox wrapped up their final visit of the season to Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Make that: their final visit of the regular season.

Despite a 14-2 loss in the series finale that was over almost before it started — thank you, Mitch Talbot — and gave Boston the series win, it’s entirely reasonable to think about an October matchup between teams that have tangled in the postseason on multiple, and often memorable, occasions.

Premature perhaps, but not preposterous.

Two pre-Memorial Day trips to town from the Red Sox is a scheduling anomaly, but they provided a measuring stick for an Indians team short on experience, long on hope and looking for validation of its unexpected 30-17 start that still ranks tops in the major leagues.

The Indians swept the first three-game meeting in early April when Boston was searching for its first win.

It thrust the Tribe above .500 for the season and started an unexpected but sensational spring that has served to take Northeast Ohio’s mind off the NFL lockout and NBA playoffs.

The Indians went 1-2 this time against a team that is playing the best baseball east of Dead Man’s Curve. The Red Sox, living up to their hype and payroll, are a major league-best 16-7 since the start of May and 25-12 since April 16.

The Indians weren’t their dominant home selves over the last three days, dropping the final two after rallying to win the opener to slip to 19-6 at Progressive Field. But every team’s entitled to a clunker or two.

On Tuesday, rookie center fielder Ezequiel Carrera misplayed a ball, Orlando Cabrera and Matt LaPorta made stupid outs on the basepaths and starter Fausto Carmona hung a cutter that Jason Varitek drilled off the right-field foul pole for a two-run homer. All contributed to a 4-2 loss.

On Wednesday, the culprit was much simpler to identify. He wore No. 51, stood on the mound and spent much of his brief appearance turning around to see where the rockets landed.

Talbot, making his first start since straining his right elbow and going on the disabled list April 17, wasn’t ready for major league hitters, let alone the Red Sox’s potent lineup.

He allowed seven runs and nine hits in the first inning, before the Tribe fans searching for an elusive parking spot in a crowded downtown could grab a beverage and take a seat — just so they could try to counter the annoying cheers of Red Sox Nation with boos. He eventually got nine outs, but not before giving up eight runs and 12 hits.

“If it wasn’t for a couple of diving catches, the outing would’ve been even shorter,” manager Manny Acta said.

The bad news is the Tribe heads to talented Tampa Bay with a little less momentum than it had Monday night after another last-at-bat win. The good news is Talbot can’t pitch any worse. Plus, he’s the fifth starter, so you can’t expect him to match Jon Lester — one of Boston’s aces — zero for zero.

One last bit of good news. The fans could lay off the antacids for a day. After a string of nail-biters, a blowout isn’t always a bad thing.

But these are Cleveland sports fans we’re talking about. So anytime the Indians drop two in a row, the worriers are going to start with their Rapture predictions.

I’m like everyone else who didn’t expect much when the season began. I’m also one of a growing number who believes the Indians won’t disintegrate in the summer heat. I see meaningful games throughout September — Detroit looks like the only competition in the Central Division — and quite possibly a return to the playoffs.

“I feel very good about my guys,” said Acta, who downplayed using Boston as a tool for self-evaluation. “I think the 30 wins we use as a measuring stick. It doesn’t matter who you beat, as long as you have enough wins at the end of the season.

“We’ve played good against just about everybody. We felt that we held our own against them and everybody else.”

The Indians have already handled injuries to starters Talbot and Carlos Carrasco, even if they could be without impressive replacement Alex White for the rest of the year. They’ve managed to continue to prosper without center fielder Grady Sizemore and designated hitter Travis Hafner, their two highest-paid players who are on the disabled list. They’ve withstood the season-long funk of Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana.

They’ve done it with good starting pitching, tremendous work out of the bullpen and a ton of clutch hitting. What can’t be overlooked is the overall fundamental way they’ve played the game. They’re immensely improved defensively from last year, they run the bases with a purpose and they can bunt.

A team with a low payroll and limited depth must play that way to have a chance. It’s more than a pleasant coincidence that’s the brand of baseball that plays in October, when runs are at a premium and it seems every game is decided by a mistake.

A second October mention in a May column. Premature perhaps, but not preposterous.

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.