ELYRIA — Nathan Burton’s favorite color is brown but he settled for blue.

“I like all colors,” the bright-eyed five-year-old said with a grin after he picked out a brand new book bag from a table stacked high with them at the Elyria Salvation Army today.

The boy was one of dozens who came through the organization’s gymnasium to take advantage of a free book bag and school supplies giveaway made possible by Huntington Bank, whose northeast Ohio employees purchased or gave money to buy notepads, folders, crayons and other supplies to fill the bags.

The Elyria Salvation Army on Broad Street was to give away 1,000 book bags from 10 to noon today and Friday, and 1 to 3 p.m. today, according to the agency’s Dale Jones.

“This is a good thing, especially for kids who come to school without the basics,” he said. “It really helps low income families, of those with no income.”

Amanda Burton called the effort “awesome.”

“I’m so glad they did it here,” the Elyria mother said, looking on at her son, and daughter, Autumn, 7, who was coming back Friday to pick out her bag.

“Probably black or pink,” she said.

“It’s getting extremely expensive,” Amanda Burton said. “Even though you buy supplies now, they run out midway during the year and then you have to buy more, and there’s all of your other bills to deal with.”

COLUMBUS — Officials say Ohio’s liquor sales numbers suggest the economic downturn has people going out less and choosing to drink at home.

The state Department of Commerce says sales of spirits to wholesale buyers such as bars and restaurants continued to decline in the latest fiscal year, while retail sales to Ohio consumers kept increasing. Agency spokesman Matt Mullins says it’s a trend seen for about three years.

The department on Thursday reported that the fiscal year that ended June 30 was the 11th in a row of record Ohio liquor sales. At the contracted liquor sellers, sales of spirits greater than 21 percent alcohol increased 1.75 percent to $742.7 million.

Mullins says sales have been going up amid rising prices and Ohioans’ increasing thirst for premium brands.

ELYRIA — An Elyria man was arrested for domestic violence after he stabbed his wife in the thigh, according to police.

Gibson

Travis Gibson, 30, is jailed on $2,500 bond, according to the county jail.

Officers were sent to 221 George St. yesterday after a 911 hangup call came in about 12:30 a.m., according to a police report.

They arrived to find Gibson on the porch of the home. His wife, Renee, 38, walked out of the home and said their dog had bit her in the leg. Gibson confirmed that, and officers observed Renee Gibson’s pajama pants were bloody. Officers left.

A few minutes later they were called back to the home because Renee Gibson had called and changed her story. She wasn’t bitten by a dog, she told a dispatcher, but had been stabbed by Travis Gibson.

She told officers her husband had left and was walking near East Avenue and Ninth Street. Officers found him there and cuffed him.

Renee Gibson told officers she and her husband were arguing about him cheating on her when he grabbed a knife off the dresser and was pointing it at her. They were going back and forth calling each other names when he grabbed her arm and threw her across the bed, the report said. That is when she was cut on the left thigh by the knife, she said.

Travis Gibson told officers he was leaving and was packing his clothes.

Renee Gibson did not explain why she initially claimed to have been bitten by the dog but said that when her husband left she called police back and explained what had happened.

Renee Gibson signed a domestic violence complaint against her husband, and he was taken to the Lorain County Jail.

CLEVELAND — Even a Brad Bergesen finds a win once in awhile. Especially when he’s pitching against a Triple-A team posing as major leaguers. Bergesen, an unheralded right-hander, won for the first time in three months Wednes­day night, pitching Baltimore past Cleveland, 3-1, with a complete-game two-hitter.

Bergesen, who allowed just five baserunners, entered the night with a 3-9 record and 6.26 ERA, but he rose above the numbers and the expectations to produce a career night against a hapless Indians offense.

“Bergesen threw a tremen­dous ballgame,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta, whose team lost for the fourth straight time and for the ninth time in the last 12 home games. “He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and changed speeds to get our hitters out. We just couldn’t do anything offensively.”

Bergesen didn’t allow a hit over the first four innings, los­ing his no-hit bid on Luis Val­buena’s RBI single with two outs in the fifth. He didn’t allow another hit until Asdrubal Cabrera’s two-out base hit in the ninth.

“He threw a lot of strikes and put the pressure on the hitters,” said Cleveland right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who flied out to center to end the game. “It was hard to get timing. He was throwing his fastball 92 (mph), but it looked harder.”

More photos below.

Bergesen, who threw his second career complete game, was efficient as could be, throwing just 102 pitches (63 strikes) and retiring the side in order in three of the last four innings.

Acta didn’t fault his hitters’ approach, choosing to heap the praise on Bergesen.

“You can be patient on the first pitch, but it doesn’t do you much good when he’s throwing all those first-pitch strikes,” he said. “You can’t complain about our hitters today.”

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A possible complaint could be lodged against Indians starter Josh Tomlin, who looked like a minor league pitcher for the first time in four starts since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus.

The right-hander, who shut down baseball’s best team (Yankees), had trouble coping with the Orioles, who entered the night with the worst record in the majors.

He allowed three runs (two earned) on 10 hits over five innings, walking one and striking out one.

“Josh didn’t look as sharp as he’s been and we felt he hit a wall in the fifth inning,” Acta said. “He just didn’t have that much life on his pitches. On any given night, a guy gives up three runs over five or six innings, and you’ll take it. It’s not like he was lit up on fire.”

Baltimore scored two runs over the first four innings, adding its final run in the fifth on a leadoff home run from Brian Roberts.

It looked as though the last-place Indians were catching a break from a rugged 24-game stretch with a visit from the Orioles. They’ve run into Baltimore at the wrong time, as the O’s won for the eighth time in nine games under new manager Buck Showalter.

“We’re not a team that’s going to look at this team as the worst team in baseball, because we’re not the New York Yankees,” Acta said. “There are going to be nights like this. There are going to be rough spots. You look at our offense, we’re going to have to battle until the end of the season.

“This game is very humbling. It doesn’t matter who you play.”

The two hits the Indians mustered were the fewest they’ve produced against the Orioles since 1970.

Cleveland’s major leagueleading streak of games with an extra-base hit came to an end at 62. It is the longest by the Indians since they produced a 69-game streak in 2008.

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