DETROIT — Ubaldo Jimenez was acquired to help the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers.

It hasn’t worked at all.

Starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez yesterday against the Detoit Tigers. (AP exchange.)

Monday, Jimenez allowed six runs in five innings as the Indians were routed 14-0 by Detroit in a game that means nothing to a pennant race that ended weeks ago.

Jimenez has faced Detroit four times since joining the Indians on July 31, losing three times. Including a start with the Rockies, he is 2-3 with a 6.35 ERA against the Tigers this season.

“Eventually, he’s going to have to figure them out,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “We see them 18 times a year.”
This time, Jimenez allowed 12 baserunners, including four extra-base hits.

“I was getting into hitter’s counts and they were taking advantage,” he said. “That’s a powerful lineup, and they’ve got guys who can hurt you on every pitch.”

Detroit had considered trading for Jimenez as well, but decided the Rockies wanted too much and dealt for Doug Fister instead.

The impact of the decision was obvious Monday. Fister (11-13) didn’t allow a runner until Asdrubal Cabrera’s two-out single in the fourth, and the Indians didn’t get a runner into scoring position until Ezequiel Carrera reached second on a single and an error with one out in the eighth.

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By that point, the Tigers led 6-0, and they still had an eight-run eighth to come.

“He works quick, he’s got a heavy sinker and a cutter,” Indians catcher Lou Marson said. “We had nothing for him, to be honest.”

Detroit’s choice of Fister over Jimenez has looked brilliant for six weeks. He and Justin Verlander, who are scheduled to start the first two games of Detroit’s first-round playoff series, are now a combined 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 16 appearances since August 16.

“I’ve never had anything like that before,” Leyland said. “14-0? Never.”

Fister, who allowed three singles while striking out nine, has been even better than the Cy Young favorite in the stretch, going 7-0 with a 0.65 ERA in his last eight outings. Fister, who was picked up in a six-player deal with Seattle on July 30, has now gone 20 innings without walking a batter.

“His command is amazing,” said catcher Alex Avila, who drove in three runs. “It’s easy to catch him, because he throws so many strikes. He’s putting everything where he wants it right now. It feels great going into the playoffs with two of the best pitchers in baseball right now.”

Victor Martinez, who has been to the postseason with Cleveland and Boston, thinks this might be his best chance at winning a World Series.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to be going into the playoffs like this,” he said. “With those two guys pitching like this, the rest of our pitchers and our lineup, we’ve got a chance to do some great things.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on Ryan Raburn’s RBI triple in the second, then scored three times in the third. With one out, Will Rhymes singled. Jimenez retired Don Kelly, but Dmitri Young and Miguel Cabrera singled to make it 2-0. Martinez walked, loading the bases, and Alex Avila hit a two-run double.

By that point, Martinez had given the Tigers a 5-0 lead with an RBI double in the fifth, and then scored Detroit’s sixth run on Avila’s base hit.

The Tigers put the game away with nine hits in the eighth, highlighted by a long 3-run homer by Young, another midseason acquistion. Detroit’s first seven batters of the inning got hits before Omir Santos, hitting for Avila, struck out.

Notable

• Third base umpire Manny Gonzalez was hit in the right shin by the barrel of Shelley Duncan’s broken bat on a fifth-inning groundout. Gonzalez was checked briefly by Tigers trainer Kevin Rand, but stayed in the game.
• Indians reliever Corey Kluber, making his third career appearance, hit Kelly and Young with back-to-back pitches in the sixth inning, and nearly hit Kelly again in the eighth.

CLEVELAND — The Indians did not leave Progressive Field with a bang, but the crowd of 22,539 certainly got its buck’s worth in Cleveland’s home finale Sunday.

Jim Thome doesn’t seem too worried Sunday despite playing third base for the first time in almost 15 years. Then again, he was only in the field for one pitch as part of a special moment thought up by Tribe manager Manny Acta. (AP photo.)

With a chance to secure a second-place standing in the Central Division and a .500 finish while sweeping Minnesota in the process, the Indians instead fell 6-4 in 10 innings.

Minnesota won it off reliever Tony Sipp, who allowed a pair of runs in the 10th, the first on a solo home run to Rene Tosoni with his third pitch.

But the result almost became an afterthought when, on “Fan Appreciation Day,” those in attendance got to see Indians legend Jim Thome make his first appearance at third base in nearly 15 years.

Manager Manny Acta concocted the idea and ran it by Thome, who began his big league career as Cleveland’s third baseman and was open to the notion.

“I just felt that if this is the end, at least with this franchise, it was proper that he end at third base,” Acta said of Thome, the Indians’ all-time leader with 337 home runs.

Thome, who returned to Cleveland in an August waiver wire trade with Minnesota, entered the game to a standing ovation as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.

Relegated to designated hitter status since 2006 after years as a first baseman, Thome then left the dugout to man third in the ninth, as the crowd got louder in recognition. He was only there for one pitch before being replaced, leaving to cheers and beckoned back out of the dugout for a curtain call.

“It was fun to be out there,” said Thome, who took one warm-up grounder and made the throw across the diamond to first baseman Carlos Santana. “It was a nice gesture. To get that opportunity to be back out there, it felt good. It felt like old times.”

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Even in defeat, Cleveland was able to clinch second place in the division, thanks to a White Sox loss.

The Indians appeared to be in line for better when left fielder Shelley Duncan clouted a two-run home run to break a 2-2 tie in the third off Twins starter Liam Hendricks. But Minnesota got single runs in the fifth and sixth innings off Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona before beating Sipp in the 10th.

Carmona’s outing mirrored his inconsistent season performance. He allowed four runs on seven hits over 61⁄3 innings, surrendering two in the first before stringing together three scoreless innings.

The right-hander began the season as the Indians’ ace but finishes it as a question mark after going 7-15 with a 5.25 ERA in 32 starts. The Indians own a $7 million option next year on Carmona, who went 3-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 second-half starts after leaving the disabled list with a strained quadriceps.

“I had a lot of trouble in the first half,” said Carmona, who won just one of his final eight starts. “The second half was much better. I finished strong.”

If Thome’s career is finished, he went out on a nostalgic note, reaching the career 600-homer plateau this season and ending where he started — wearing an Indians uniform.

A strong candidate for the Hall of Fame, Thome has stated that he would make a decision on retirement this offseason, but he sounded as though his rare appearance at third base was not part of his big league swan song.

“I wouldn’t read into that too much,” said the 41-year-old Thome, who is at the tail end of his 21st season in the majors. “I still love to play. The percentage of me coming back next year is higher than me not coming back. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — Injuries will mark the Indians’ season from start to finish.

Sizemore

General manager Chris Antonetti told reporters Sunday that center fielder Grady Sizemore would be shut down for the remainder of the year a day after outfielder Trevor Crowe met the same fate.

Sizemore, who had not played since Thursday, is experiencing soreness in an ailing right knee that has already landed him on the disabled list twice this season. He was not at Progressive Field for the team’s home finale Sunday.

Sizemore, a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner, began the year on the disabled list recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee.

He returned April 17, but endured another injury-plagued and unproductive season, batting just .224 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 71 games. Sizemore, whom the Indians own an $8.5 million option on for 2012, hit just .139 (5-for-36) in his final 10 games.

With Crowe out as well, the Indians recalled outfielder Jerad Head from Triple-A Columbus. To make room for Head on the 40-man roster, Cleveland transferred starting pitcher Josh Tomlin (right elbow soreness) to the 60-day DL.

It is also possible that All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will not play again this season. Cabrera’s right elbow is still ailing after being hit by a pitch in a 6-5 win over the Twins on Friday.

He told reporters he would not play in the series opener at Detroit tonight and wasn’t sure if he would see any action in the remaining two games of the regular season, either.

September swingin’

Shelley Duncan continued his productive pace this month, going 2-for-3 with his 11th homer and two RBIs.

In 23 September games, Duncan is batting .291 (21-for-72) with seven homers and 22 RBIs. His RBI count is the second-highest in the majors behind Texas’ Adrian Beltre (24).

Next up

The Indians finish the regular season with a three-game series at Comerica Park against Central Division champion Detroit.

Ubaldo Jimenez (10-12, 4.52 ERA) opens the set tonight (7:05), opposing RHP Doug Fister (10-13, 2.94), while Jeanmar Gomez (5-2, 3.52) goes for Cleveland on Tuesday (7:05 p.m.) against RHP Max Scherzer (14-9, 4.37).

Zach McAllister (0-1, 5.83) will pitch the season finale Wednesday (7:05 p.m.), while the Tigers counter with RHP Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.76).

Final count

A crowd of 22,539 left the Indians with a season attendance total of 1,840,835 — up 449,191 from last year.

Cleveland entered Sunday ranked 24th in the majors with an average attendance of 22,728.

“I’m really grateful for the support our fans have given us all season,” manager Manny Acta said, “especially (Sunday) with the Browns in town. I thought it was a pretty good crowd.”

The Indians went 44-37 at Progressive Field with 17 last at-bat wins.

Roundin’ third

• The Indians went 11-7 against the Twins this year, the first time they have won a season series against Minnesota since 2007.
• Though they have captured just one since 2001, the Indians rank third in the majors with seven division titles during the wild-card era, which began in 1995.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — The Indians did not leave Progressive Field with a bang, but the crowd of 22,539 certainly got its buck’s worth in Cleveland’s home finale Sunday.

With a chance to secure a second-place standing in the Central Division and a .500 finish while sweeping Minnesota in the process, the Indians instead fell 6-4 in 10 innings.

Minnesota won it off reliever Tony Sipp, who allowed a pair of runs in the 10th, the first on a solo home run to Rene Tosoni with his third pitch.

But the result almost became an afterthought when on “Fan Appreciation Day,” those in attendance got to see Indians legend Jim Thome make his first appearance at third base in nearly 15 years.

Manager Manny Acta concocted the idea and ran it by Thome, who began his big league career as Cleveland’s third baseman and was open to the notion.

“I just felt that if this is the end, at least with this franchise, it was proper that he end at third base,” Acta said of Thome, the Indians’ all-time leader with 337 home runs.

Thome, who returned to Cleveland in an August waiver wire trade with Minnesota, entered the game to a standing ovation as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.

Relegated to designated hitter status since 2006 after years as a first baseman, Thome then left the dugout to man third in the ninth, as the crowd got louder in recognition. He was only there for one pitch before being replaced, leaving to cheers and beckoned back out of the dugout for a curtain call.

“It was fun to be out there,” said Thome, who took one warmup grounder and made the throw across the diamond to first baseman Carlos Santana. “It was a nice gesture. To get that opportunity to back out there, it felt good. It felt like old times.”

Even in defeat, Cleveland was able to clinch second place in the division, thanks to a White Sox loss.

The Indians appeared to be in line for better when left fielder Shelley Duncan clouted a two-run home run to break a 2-2 tie in the third off Twins starter Liam Hendricks. But Minnesota got single runs in the fifth and sixth innings off Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona before beating Sipp in the 10th.

Carmona’s outing mirrored his inconsistent season performance. He allowed four runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings, surrendering two in the first before stringing together three scoreless innings.

The right-hander began the season as the Indians’ ace but finishes it as a question mark after going 7-15 with a 5.25 ERA in 32 starts. The Indians own a $7 million option next year on Carmona, who went 3-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 second-half starts after leaving the disabled list with a strained quadriceps.

“I had a lot of trouble in the first half,” said Carmona, who won just one of his final eight starts. “The second half was much better. I finished strong.”

If Thome’s career is finished, he went out on a nostalgic note, reaching the career 600-homer plateau this season and ending where he started — wearing an Indians uniform.

A strong candidate for the Hall of Fame, Thome has stated that he would make a decision on retirement this offseason, but he sounded as though his rare appearance at third base was not part of his big league swan song.

“I wouldn’t read into that too much,” said the 41-year-old Thome, who is at the tail end of his 21st season in the majors. “I still love to play. The percentage of me coming back next year is higher than me not coming back. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.