CLEVELAND – Mitch Talbot was already getting close to his innings limitation for the season. After what took place Sunday at Progressive Field, the Indians might just decide to shut him down now.

Talbot departed from Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Minnesota after facing just three batters (14 pitches). The early diagnosis is right shoulder inflammation.

“Mitch had a tough time getting loose,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “He just didn’t look right to me. We wanted to be on the cautious side.”

Acta and team trainers visited Talbot on the mound after he walked the leadoff batter on five pitches, but the right-hander stayed in the game to face Orlando Hudson and Joe Mauer, allowing singles to both before leaving for good.

“This guy is a battler,” Acta said. “He was close to fighting me for taking him out, but we have to do what’s right for him.”

“I wanted to stay out there to see if I could get it to fire for me,” Talbot said. “It just wouldn’t do it for me.”

Talbot was examined by a team doctor after the game and is scheduled for an MRI today.

“None of us our really worried about the MRI showing anything but inflammation,” said Talbot, who has already spent time on the disabled list with a mid-back strain. “It’s not a big worry for us. It’s not out of the ordinary with a long season.”

Talbot’s early exit might have served to hasten the end of the season for Justin Masterson, who replaced Talbot and worked seven innings. Masterson was moved to the bullpen Saturday in hopes of keeping him active for the remainder of the season by limiting his innings.

Acta said Matserson had around seven innings left before possibly being shut down.

“The plan was to use him one or two innings here and there, but this was an emergency type of thing, and he was the right guy to do it,” Acta said.

Donald down

Second baseman Jason Donald was not in the lineup a day after a ball he bunted caught his hand on the bat. Acta said Donald has two bruised fingers on his right hand.

“He’s going to be out a couple of days, probably three to five,” Acta said.

Pack your bags

The Indians are one of four American League teams that have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, sliding back into last place in the Central Division with a 58-85 record.

“We’re just going to go home with another 21 ballclubs,” Acta said. “A lot of things out of our control happened here, and unfortunately, it didn’t give us a chance. Now, it’s about developing these kids.”

Next up

The Indians are off today, wrapping up the homestand with a three-game series against the Angels that begins Tuesday night at 7:05.

Josh Tomlin (3-3, 4.18 ERA) opens the set for Cleveland, opposing LHP Scott Kazmir (8-13, 5.98), while Jeanmar Gomez (3-3, 3.07) starts Wednesday (7:05 p.m.) against RHP Jered Weaver (11-11, 3.14).

Fausto Carmona (12-14, 3.86) goes for the Indians in the series finale Thursday (7:05 p.m.), while the Angels counter with RHP Ervin Santana (15-9, 4.02).

Thome time

Jim Thome’s game-winning home run in the 12^th inning Saturday was his 12^th homer in extra innings, which is the most by any active player in the majors.

Thome, Cleveland’s franchise leader with 334 home runs, played in two of the three games against his former team, going 2-for-8 with a homer, two RBIs and a run. He is batting .254 with 19 homers and 53 RBIs against the Indians since leaving the club via free agency in 2003.

Minor detail

The opener of Class A Lake County’s Midwestern League semifinal series against Great Lakes was rained out Saturday. The two teams tried again Sunday, with left-hander Giovanni Soto pitching for the Captains. … Triple-A Columbus opens its Governors’ Cup Championship Series against Louisville/Durham on Tuesday.    

Roundin’ third

Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 13 games, accounting for the longest streak by a Cleveland rookie since Coco Crisp did the same in 2003. … The Indians and Twins failed to score a run through 11 innings of Minnesota’s 1-0 victory Saturday. It was the longest stretch without a run in a game in the history of Jacobs/Progressive Field.    

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

Former Indian Jim Thome hit a solo home run off Justin Germano in the 12th inning to lift the Twins past Cleveland, 1-0, at Progressive Field on Saturday.

Thome homered for the fourth straight game and for the fifth time in six games.

Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco is still without his first big league win despite pitching well again — no runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings.

LORAIN — The East 28th Street underpass is closed because it is crumbling and the falling debris was a danger to vehicles, according to the Lorain Fire Department.

Firefighters didn’t know how long the underpass would be closed, but said they were notified about it this morning by Lorain police.

According to Lt. Daniel Reinhardt, an officer driving under the bridge, which is owned by the railroad, observed some falling concrete this morning and closed the underpass due to safety concerns.

“We closed it off and contacted the railroad to have it repaired,” Reinhardt said.

It was not immediately known how long it would remain closed.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jeff Mathis drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 16th inning and the Los Angeles Angels got home runs from Mike Napoli and rookie Peter Bourjos in a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednes­day night, the longest game of the season for both teams.

Cleveland rookie Hector Ambriz (0-2), working his fourth inning of relief, gave up a leadoff double to left-center by Torii Hunter on the 500th pitch of the game. Hunter advanced on Alberto Callaspo’s grounder to first base and jogged home after Mathis’ fly ball to right field.

Matt Palmer (1-1) pitched three innings of two-hit relief for the victory, striking out the side in the 15th.

More photos below.

Fernando Rodney, who took over the closer’s role for the Angels after Brian Fuentes was traded to Minnesota on Aug. 27, gave up the tying run in the ninth on a one-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Jayson Nix. The blown save was Rodney’s fourth in 12 opportunities this season, and just his fifth in 52 chances dating to 2008 with Detroit.

Callaspo singled with one out in the bottom half of the ninth and tried to score on a pitch from Joe Smith that broke off the glove of catcher Lou Marson and to the right of home plate. But Marson, who entered the game that inning after Nix batted for starting catcher Chris Gimenez, hus­tled after the ball and threw to Smith for the tag on Callaspo.

Cleveland center fielder Michael Brantley robbed Juan Rivera of a home run leading off the 10th against Justin Germano, after the Indians stranded two runners in scoring position in the top of the inning on a groundout by Andy Marte against Bobby Cassevah. The rookie right-hander escaped another jam in the 11th, retiring Asdrubal Cabrera on a comebacker with runners at the corners.

The Angels loaded the bases in the 11th against Germano, who gave up a walk and a hitand- run single to Hunter before walking Callaspo intentionally to set up a possible double play. But Mathis fouled out to Marson on an attempted suicide squeeze bunt and Erick Aybar struck out.

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Scott Kazmir matched Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin pitchfor- pitch through four hitless innings and left after six with a 3-1 lead before the Angels’ bullpen squandered it.

Marte, who came in with four hits in five career at-bats against Kazmir, struck out both times against the left-hander. His next time up, he hit his fourth homer of the season with one out in the seventh off rookie right-hander Jordan Walden to trim the Angels’ lead to 3-2.

Kazmir allowed a run and two hits, struck out six and walked three. The two-time All-Star came in with a 7.07 ERA and .360 opponents batting average against Cleveland, his highest numbers against any team.

Tomlin gave up three runs and three hits over six innings, walked three and struck out four in his eighth career start.

Neither team had a hit until Cleveland’s Jason Donald led off the fifth with a double inside third base and scored one out later on a single by Trevor Crowe. But Napoli put the Angels ahead in the bottom half with his 23rd homer, a two-run shot.

Bourjos led off the sixth with a drive that just cleared the fence in left-center and increased the Angels’ margin to 3-1. It was the third homer for Bourjos, who came in batting .196 in 28 games following his promotion from Triple-A on Aug. 3.