CLEVELAND — David Huff is back in the minor leagues and might just stay there for the rest of the season.

Huff, who has struggled to a 2-11 record and 6.21 ERA in 15 starts over two stints with the Indians this year, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, clearing the way for Mitch Talbot to return to the rotation.

Reliever Jess Todd was recalled from Colum­bus to fill Huff’s roster spot, but the right-han­der will likely be optioned back when Talbot is activated from the disabled list Saturday to start against the Mariners.

Huff returns to the minors with the same instructions he was given the last time he was sent down.

“He needs to command his fastball,” said manager Manny Acta. “We’ve said it over and over and over. This is a guy we need to be good for us to move forward as a ballclub. He’s proven in the past that he has the stuff to have some success up here. He needs to command his fastball. It’s as simple as that.”

According to Acta, positive results alone in Columbus won’t get Huff back in the majors.

“We already know he can go down to Triple-A and perform well,” Acta said. “We want him to go down and make the adjustments.”

The Indians could have chosen to send down right-hander Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 1.56 ERA), a pitcher that wasn’t expected to appear in the majors this year, instead of Huff, a left-hander who led Cleveland with 11 wins in 2009 and began this season in the rotation.

“In a perfect world, David Huff would be pitching effectively out of the rotation and Jeanmar Gomez would have stayed at Triple-A and continued his development,” Acta said. “But the fact is Gomez has pitched three good games. Down (at Triple-A), you want to see development. At this level, results matter.”

Pronk’s prognosis

Travis Hafner (right shoulder inflammation) is expected to take batting practice this weekend.

Acta said Cleveland’s designated hitter will need two positive BP efforts before the club decides to activate him or send him out on a rehab assignment.

Brantley bit

Michael Brantley has shown signs of life at the plate in his latest stint with the Indians, entering Wednesday 5-for-16 with six runs, a triple, a homer and three RBIs in four games.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable,” Brantley said. “I’m just trying to get my swing back on track so I can go out and contribute every day.”

Brantley has been in the lineup every day since being recalled for his third stint on the big league level, batting leadoff and playing center field, two spots he is expected to hold down over the remainder of the regular season.

Minor details

• It’s been a rough ride at Columbus for left-hander Jeremy Sowers, a first-round draft pick and former member of the Indians’ rotation. Sowers, the sixth overall draft choice in 2004, entered Wednesday with a 2-6 record and 5.85 ERA in 27 games (four starts). He is a long shot to be promoted in September.
• Corey Kluber, a right-hander acquired in the Jake Westbrook trade with St. Louis, got shelled for six runs on 11 hits over four innings in Double-A Akron’s 11-0 loss to Reading on Tuesday. He has allowed 10 runs on 19 hits over eight innings of his first two starts for the Aeros.

Roundin’ third

• The Indians entered Wednesday with five players batting under .200 for the year — Andy Marte (.198), Lou Marson (.186), Brantley (.178), Luis Valbuena (.167) and Chris Gimenez (.150). Brantley, Valbuena and Gimenez were all in the lineup Wednesday.
• The Indians signed their 49th-round draft pick, outfielder Marcus Bradley (Central Arizona College).

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

CLEVELAND – Even a Brad Bergesen finds a win once in awhile, especially when he’s pitching against a Triple-A team posing as a major league one.

Bergesen, an unheralded right-hander for the Orioles, 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 as the tying run at the plate. “It was hard to get timing. He was throwing his fastball 92 (mph), but it looked harder.”

Bergesen, who threw his second career complete game, was efficient as could be, throwing just 102 pitches (63 strikes), while 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 instead.  

“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.”

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 last-pace 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 rigid 24-game stretch since the all-star break with a visit from the Orioles. They’ve run into Baltimore at the wrong time, the O’s winning 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 league-leading extra-base hits streak came to an end at 62 games. 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.

The Indians managed just two hits in a 3-1 loss to the Orioles at Progressive Field on Wednesday night.

Baltimore right-hander Brad Bergesen pitched a complete game, allowing an RBI single to Luis Valbuena for the first Cleveland hit, then a base hit to Asdrubal Cabrera in the ninth.

The Orioles won for the eighth time in nine games under manager Buck Showalter, while the Indians dropped their fourth straight.

CLEVELAND – David Huff is back in the minor leagues and might just stay there for the rest of the season.

Huff, who has struggled to a 2-11 record and 6.21 ERA in 15 starts over two stints with the Indians this year, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, clearing the way for Mitch Talbot to return to the rotation.

Reliever Jess Todd was recalled from Columbus to fill Huff’s roster spot, but the right-hander will likely be optioned back when Talbot is activated from the disabled list Saturday to start against the Mariners.

Huff returns to the minors with the same instructions he was given the last time he was sent down.  

“He needs to command his fastball,” said manager Manny Acta. “We’ve said it over and over and over. This is a guy we need to be good for us to move forward as a ballclub. He’s proven in the past that he has the stuff to have some success up here. He needs to command his fastball. It’s as simple as that.”

According to Acta, positive results alone in Columbus won’t get Huff back in the majors.

“We already know he can go down to Triple-A and perform well,” Acta said. “We want him to go down and make the adjustments.”

The Indians could have chosen to send down right-hander Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 1.56 ERA), a pitcher that wasn’t expected to appear in the majors this year, instead of Huff, a left-hander who led Cleveland with 11 wins in 2009 and began this season in the rotation.

“In a perfect world, David Huff would be pitching effectively out of the rotation and Jeanmar Gomez would have stayed at Triple-A and continued his development,” Acta said. “But the fact is Gomez has pitched three good games. Down (at Triple-A), you want to see development. At this level, results matter.”

Pronk’s prognosis

Travis Hafner (right shoulder inflammation) is expected to take batting practice this weekend.

Acta said Cleveland’s designated hitter will need two positive BP efforts before the club decides to activate him or send him out on a rehab assignment.

Brantley bit

Michael Brantley has shown signs of life at the plate in his latest stint with the Indians, entering Wednesday 5-for-16 with six runs, a triple, a homer and three RBIs in four games.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable,” Brantley said. “I’m just trying to get my swing back on track so I can go out and contribute every day.”

Brantley has been in the lineup every day since being recalled for his third stint on the big league level, batting leadoff and playing center field, two spots he is expected to hold down over the remainder of the regular season.

Minor details

It’s been a rough ride at Columbus for left-hander Jeremy Sowers, a first-round draft pick and former member of the Indians’ rotation. Sowers, the sixth overall draft choice in 2004, entered Wednesday with a 2-6 record and 5.85 ERA in 27 games (four starts). He is a long shot to be promoted in September. … Corey Kluber, a right-hander acquired in the Jake Westbrook trade with St. Louis, got shelled for six runs on 11 hits over four innings of Double-A Akron’s 11-0 loss to Reading on Tuesday. He has allowed 10 runs on 19 hits over eight innings of his first two starts for the Aeros.

Roundin’ third

The Indians entered Wednesday with five players batting under .200 on the year – Andy Marte (.198), Lou Marson (.186), Brantley (.178), Luis Valbuena (.167) and Chris Gimenez (.150). Brantley, Valbuena and Gimenez were all in the lineup Wednesday. … The Indians signed their 49^th-round draft pick, outfielder Marcus Bradley (Central Arizona College). … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Gomez (2-0, 1.56) vs. Millwood (2-11, 6.05).  

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