Schedule stuff

The Indians announced their 2011 schedule, with the season opening April 1 at Progressive Field against Central Division rival Chicago, followed by a three-game series against Boston (April 5-7).

The Yankees make their only trip of the season to Cleveland on July 4-6.

Interleague opponents making trips to Cleveland include Cincinnati (May 20-22), Pittsburgh (June 17-19) and Colorado (June 20-22). 

CLEVELAND – Justin Masterson may be returning to the rotation after all.

Mitch Talbot, who left his last start with right shoulder inflammation, was scheduled to be examined by doctors Tuesday night. If Talbot checks out, he will make his scheduled start Saturday. If he doesn’t, Masterson is the strongest candidate to take his place.

With Masterson nearing his innings limitation, the right-hander was moved to the bullpen and worked seven innings in relief Sunday after Talbot left with the injury in the first inning.

If Masterson does wind up filling in for Talbot, manager Manny Acta said it would be his final appearance of the season.

Masterson (6-12, 4.73 ERA) has experienced an up-and-down first full season as a starting pitcher, going 6-12 with a 4.88 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 28 starts covering 166 innings. His best work came at the end of the year – 3-2, 2.95 ERA over his last seven starts – which solidified a spot in the rotation to enter spring training in 2011.

“The plan was to start him and give him a legitimate chance to show he could handle it,” Acta said. “There was some inconsistency early but then he pitched some good games.

“We’re trying to build a starting rotation (for 2011). He has shown the ability to miss bats. That takes the defense out of the equation. He’s got the stuff. When he’s on, left, right, it doesn’t matter.”

Donald down

Second baseman Jason Donald is expected to miss at least a week with a bruised tendon in his right index finger. Donald sustained the injury Saturday when a pitch he bunted caught his hand on the bat.

Acta said Luis Valbuena would get the majority of playing time at second in Donald’s absence.

As insurance, Cleveland called up infielder Drew Sutton, 27, from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday. Sutton, claimed off waivers from the Reds in early August, has spent the majority of the season at the Triple-A level, batting a combined .273 with five home runs and 42 RBIs in 113 regular season games with Louisville and Columbus (29 games).  

To take Sutton’s spot on the Clippers’ roster, infielder Jason Kipnis was promoted from Double-A Akron. Kipnis, a second-round draft pick last year, has spent the majority of the season with the Aeros, hitting .311 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs in 79 games.       

Minor details

Columbus opened its Governors’ Cup Championship Series on Tuesday, hosting Durham in the opener of a five-game series. David Huff started for the Clippers, who are in the finals for the first time since 1997. … Class A Lake County evened it’s best-of-three series against Great Lakes in the Midwestern League semifinals, winning 7-6 Monday. Left fielder Chase Burnette, who hit two homers in Game 1, and right fielder Greg Folgia, had two hits apiece, while closer Preston Guilmet earned his third playoff save, working 2 1/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit and striking out five.    

Roundin’ third

The Indians entered Tuesday with a second-half team ERA of 3.81, as opposed to a 4.64 ERA during the first half. Cleveland’s starting pitchers had posted a 2.48 ERA over the last 17 games through Monday. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WEOL 930-AM/WTAM 1100-AM. Gomez (3-3, 3.07) vs. Weaver (11-11, 3.14).

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

Shelley Duncan hit two home runs and drove in all of the Indians’ runs in 4-3 victory over the Angels at Progressive Field on Tuesday night.

Duncan went 3-for-3, adding a single, with his homers coming in the fourth and sixth innings.

Josh Tomlin got the win for Cleveland, allowing three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.

A Wellington doctor is in custody today after authorities say he engaged in sexual activity with a patient, according to the Lorain County drug task force.

Kongthong

According to Gregg Mehling, a detective with the task force, a one-count misdemeanor indictment against Jang Kongthong, 69, of Independence, Ohio, was presented to the Lorain County grand jury on Sept 1.

“It alleges he engaged in sexual activity for hire at his former medical office on Dickson Street in Wellington,” Mehling said.

According to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, Kongthong is being held on $1,000 bond on a count of procuring prostitution.

Kongthong was arrested at his home in Independence about 8:30 this morning after the drug task force received a complaint “from a credible individual,” Mehling said.

“He’s made some admissions that got him to the position he’s in today,” Mehling said.

Mehling said he believes Kongthong has spent “the better part of 40 years as a general practitoner” and “at least 10 years, maybe longer, in Wellington.”

“We allege that he engaged in sexual activity for hire with one patient over about a six-month period,” Mehling said, explaining that authorities believe he paid for sexual activity with a female under his care. Mehling wouldn’t say what he believed that pay was, leaving open the possibility that it could have been either cash or prescription drugs.

When asked if other victims might exist, Mehling said, “we know of one at this point.”

“If anyone else has anything to share, we certainly want to talk to them,” he added.

Stephen Meckler, attorney for a 41-year-old Wellington woman who has filed a civil suit against Kongthong for “improper touching,” said the woman in the criminal case and his client might not be the only victims, as he’s been contacted by others.

“I’ve had a few people call me and indicate they had strange experiences with him” after the initial civil case hit newspapers, Meckler said.

Meckler said his client had a “regular doctor-patient arraignment, period” with Kungthong but felt Kongthong touched her “in an inappropriate fashion not related to the examination which was being performed.”

He said that inappropriate touching caused his client severe emotional distress and mental anguish and required counseling.

Of Kongthong’s arrest, Mehling said: “We think medical people are like police officers, teachers and others in a position of public trust. We think there’s a higher standard. When they use their position or their office for personal gain, if it’s a violation of law, we think they should be held accountable for their actions.”

According to Mehling, Kongthong is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. in Oberlin Municipal Court.

The woman involved has not been charged, Mehling said. He said while it’s always a possibility she might be, it does not appear likely at this point.

CLEVELAND – The end came early for the Indians on Sunday at Progressive Field.

In a first inning that saw Cleveland’s starting pitcher Mitch Talbot leave with an injury, the Twins scored five runs and never looked back, winning the rubber match of a three-game series, 6-2.

“We shot ourselves in the foot in the first inning,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “We continue to struggle offensively, but the story was that first inning.”

Talbot left the game after facing just three batters and was diagnosed with right shoulder inflammation.

Inflaming the ire of Acta was second baseman Luis Valbuena.

With Justin Masterson on the mound in relief of Talbot and the Indians trailing by a run, a single from Michael Cuddyer loaded the bases for Jim Thome, who sent a tailor-made double-play opportunity to Valbuena.

Rushing to complete the double play despite the slow-of-foot Thome heading to first, Valbuena bobbled the ball and couldn’t make a throw anywhere, which allowed a run to score.

The extension of the inning saw two more runs cross the plate in the five-run first for Minnesota.

“When you’re playing a good team like that, you can’t give them extra outs,” Acta said. “We basically gave them two runs on that double-play ball.”

Valbuena atoned for the error a bit an inning later, driving in Cleveland’s only runs with a two-out double.

Masterson, who was moved to the bullpen Saturday to preserve his innings count, wound up making what amounted to a start anyway.

He allowed one unearned run on five hits, while striking out six over seven innings. It was the longest outing by a Cleveland reliever since Jake Westbrook pitched seven innings out of the bullpen in 2004. It was the longest relief outing in the majors since Texas’ Dustin Nippert tossed seven in 2008.

“Things worked out pretty good for the most part,” Masterson said. “I did what I could. It’s definitely not the easiest thing in the world, but it seemed to work out.”

“Justin was terrific,” Acta said. “They didn’t put too many good swings together against him.”

The same could be said for Indians hitters, who managed just two unearned runs off Twins starter Kevin Slowey.

Cleveland outhit the Twins 9-7 but left seven on base, as opposed to Minnesota’s two.

The Indians’ best opportunity for an uprising arrived in the fifth – Slowey’s last inning of work.

Cleveland loaded the bases with one out on three consecutive singles from Chris Gimenez, Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians got nothing when Shin-Soo Choo struck out and Travis Hafner grounded out to second baseman Orlando Hudson to end the inning.

Hudson made a circus play to get Hafner, back-handing the ball deep behind second base and spinning to make the throw off one foot.

Talbot, who took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits and a walk, knew something was amiss with his shoulder as he warmed up in the bullpen prior to taking the mound.

“Before the game, it didn’t want to loosen up for me today,” he said.

Talbot is the first Indians starter to fail to record an out since Jeff D’Amico in 2004, and he is the first Cleveland starter to face just three batters since Scott Scudder in 1992.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.