Robert Starnes Jr. was charged today in connection with the robbery of the Chase Bank branch in Sheffield Lake last week and could face additional charges in two other bank robberies, the FBI announced in a news release.

Starnes

Starnes, 39, was arrested last Thursday on a parole violation, although Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery had issued an order earlier this year declaring that Starnes wasn’t on parole. The Ohio Adult Parole Authority contends that Rothgery didn’t have the author-ity to issue such an order and has continued to treat Starnes as if her were on parole.

The news release said that in addition to the July 21 Sheffield Lake robbery, Starnes is also a suspect in the robberies of Lorain National Bank in Sheffield Township on June 28 and the FirstMerit Bank in Amherst on July 16. Charges in those cases are pending, the release said.

Starnes will appear in federal court on the armed bank robbery charge — which carries a possible prison term of up to 25 years – once he is transferred from state to federal custody, according to the release.

Read Wednesday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

CLEVELAND — Jake Westbrook didn’t make many bad pitches Monday night at Progressive Field. Unfortunately for Westbrook and the Indians, one of them wound up beating him.

With the Indians owning a tenuous one-run lead over the defending world champion Yankees in the eighth inning, Westbrook made a monumental mistake to Curtis Granderson, who clouted the decisive home run in New York’s 3-2 win.

Cleveland was able to prevent Alex Rodriguez from hitting his 600th home run, holding the third baseman hitless in four at-bats. But that was about all the Indians could celebrate after suffering one of the more heartbreaking defeats of the season.

“It was definitely a humbling game,” said Westbrook, who allowed three runs on just four hits over eight innings. “It was a tough one to lose — one-run lead in the eighth inning and you give up a two-run homer. That was the ballgame.

Just how late it was, that’s what makes it such a tough loss.”

More photos below.

Westbrook entered the eighth inning having pitched brilliantly against one of the most potent lineups in baseball. The Yankees had mustered just two hits to that point.

But after allowing a leadoff single to Jorge Posada, Westbrook tried to sneak a sinker past Granderson that didn’t sink enough. The center fielder launched the 1-0 offering an estimated 421 feet into the right-field seats.

“It’s tough because we battled really hard and (Westbrook) pitched an outstanding game,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta.

Acta was asked if he considered removing Westbrook after he allowed the leadoff single to Posada.

“I wouldn’t even think about taking out a guy who had a two-hitter coming into the eighth inning, especially the way he had pitched over the last three innings before,” Acta said. “Jake was terrific. He was almost near-perfect.”

With all the offense on the field — the majority of it wearing Yankees uniforms — the game surprisingly morphed into a pitching duel between Westbrook and Javier Vazquez.

Both right-handers limited the opposition to a run over the first five innings. Cleveland’s came in the second on a homer from Travis Hafner — his first since June 15.

New York’s first run also came via the long ball, with Nick Swisher breaking up Westbrook’s perfect game with one out in the fourth inning on a no-doubt drive to right.

“I gave up two home runs,” Westbrook said. “That’s the frustrating part. That’s why we lost the game.”

Cleveland forged ahead in the sixth on a two-out RBI double from Shin-Soo Choo.

The Indians outhit the Yankees 6-4 but struggled again with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-7. They are 1-for-34 with runners in scoring position over the last five games. Of Cleveland’s six hits, five went for extra bases.

The Indians didn’t work around Rodriguez, who got pitches to hit in all four trips to the plate. Acta said that will be the approach his pitchers will take over the next three games.

“Most teams have one or two guys you have to be careful with,” Acta said. “They have three or four, really nine that make you sweat. He’s still one of the best players to ever wear a uniform, so you have to be careful, but he’s not by himself. That’s the thing. We still have to go after him.”

Cleveland’s manager isn’t concerned with preventing Rodriguez from reaching the milestone on his turf.

“We’re not going to base our whole philosophy on not letting him get his 600th home run,” Acta said. “I could care less if he hits three home runs and we win the game.

“We’re not going to do anything different. If it happens that he does it here, we can live with that.”

The loss in the series opener Monday night won’t be as easy to stomach.

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

CLEVELAND – Jake Westbrook didn’t make many bad pitches Monday night at Progressive Field. Unfortunately for Westbrook and the Indians, one of them wound up beating him.

With the Indians owning a tenuous one-run lead over the defending world champion Yankees in the eighth inning, Westbrook made a monumental mistake to Curtis Granderson, who clouted the game-winning home run in New York’s 3-2 win.

Cleveland was able to prevent Alex Rodriguez from hitting his 600^th home run, holding New York’s third baseman hitless in four at-bats. But that was about all the Indians could celebrate after suffering one of the more heartbreaking defeats of the season.

“It was definitely a humbling game,” said Westbrook, who allowed three runs on just four hits over eight innings. “It was a tough one to lose – one-run lead in the eighth inning and you give up a two-run homer. That was the ballgame. Just how late it was, that’s what makes it such a tough loss.”

Westbrook entered the eighth inning pitching brilliantly against one of the most potent lineups in baseball, which had mustered just two hits to that point off the Indians’ right-hander.

But after allowing a leadoff single to Jorge Posada, Westbrook tried to sneak a sinker past Granderson that didn’t sink low enough to prohibit New York’s center fielder from launching the 1-0 offering an estimated 421 feet into the right-field seats.

“It’s tough because we battled really hard and (Westbrook) pitched an outstanding game,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta.

Acta was asked if he considered removing Westbrook after he allowed the leadoff single to Posada.

“I wouldn’t even think about taking out a guy who had a two-hitter coming into the eighth inning, especially the way he had pitched over the last three innings before,” Acta said. “Jake was terrific. He was almost near perfect.”

With all of the offense on the field, the majority of it wearing Yankees uniforms, the game surprisingly morphed into a pitching duel between Westbrook and his counterpart, right-hander Javier Vazquez.

Both right-handers limited the opposition to just one run over the first five innings, Cleveland’s coming in the second on a homer from Travis Hafner – his first since June 15.

New York’s first run also came via the long ball, with Nick Swisher breaking up Westbrook’s perfect game with one out in the fourth inning on a no-doubt drive to right.

“I gave up two home runs,” Westbrook said. “That’s the frustrating part. That’s why we lost the game.”

Cleveland forged ahead by a run in the sixth on a two-out RBI double from Shin-Soo Choo.

The Indians outhit the Yankees 6-4 but struggled again with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-7 in the situation. They are 1-for-34 with runners in scoring position over their last five games. Of Cleveland’s six hits, five went for extra bases.

The Indians didn’t work around Rodriguez, who got pitches to hit in all four of his trips to the plate, which according to Acta, will be the approach his pitchers will take over the next three games of the series.

“Most teams have one or two guys you have to be careful with,” Acta said. “They have three or four, really nine that make you sweat. He’s still one of the best players to ever wear a uniform, so you have to be careful, but he’s not by himself. That’s the thing. We still have to go after him.”

Cleveland’s manager isn’t concerned with preventing Rodriguez from reaching the milestone on his turf.

“We’re not going to base our whole philosophy on not letting him get his 600^th home run,” Acta said. “I could care less if he hits three home runs and we win the game.

“We’re not going to do anything different. If it happens that he does it here, we can live with that.”

The loss in the series opener Monday night won’t be as easy to stomach.

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

CLEVELAND – Former Indians ace CC Sabathia left Cleveland and won a world championship. He supports LeBron James’ quest to do the same in Miami.

Sabathia, whose world title dreams were never realized in seven-plus years with the Indians, thinks James made the right move skipping town to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat.

“He made the best decision for him trying to win a championship,” Sabathia said. “They’ve got a pretty good team down there now.”

Sabathia, who will start against the Indians tonight, is part of a pretty good team now. After being traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee during the 2008 season, the 30-year-old left-hander signed a lucrative multi-year contract with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season, then won the World Series in his first year in New York.   

“Getting a chance to win and be a part of so much tradition and history in New York, and celebrating with that city, was definitely a special experience,” said Sabathia, who is an American League Cy Young candidate this season, entering Monday with the league-lead in wins (13), while sporting a 3.18 ERA.

Sabathia’s tenure in Cleveland may not have included a World Series title, but the Indians did win two Central Division championships, nearly advancing to the World Series in 2007, the same season Sabathia won his first and only Cy Young award.    

“It’s weird sitting on the other side of the field and going to the visitor’s clubhouse,” Sabathia said. “It’s not really tough because I don’t really know any of the guys on the team now. I only have a few friends over here now, so it’s easier to deal with.”

On the shelf

Outfielder Austin Kearns missed his second straight game after being spiked in the leg Saturday and requiring stitches.

Kearns has missed five of the last six games, nursing a sore right knee before getting spiked.    

Wood’s world

Kerry Wood (blister right index finger) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today at Progressive Field. If that goes well, the right-hander is expected to be activated from the disabled list shortly after. He is eligible to leave the injured list Wednesday.

Acta said he would work Wood back into the closer role but that the job was still his.

“Whenever Kerry is ready to close, he’ll close,” Acta said. 

Tomlin’s time

Josh Tomlin was a surprising pick to replace Aaron Laffey in the rotation, flying under the radar at Triple-A Columbus this season despite impressive numbers – 8-4, 2.68 ERA in 20 games (17 starts).

“He’s always been an underachiever,” Acta said of the right-hander, who will make his major league debut tonight against Sabathia and the Yankees. “He’s not one of those guys that lights up the radar gun or is intimidating with his size. He’s had to prove himself over and over again, and he’s done that. I don’t think in spring training that his name was on top of our board, but he’s worked his way up to the top of the board.”

Tomlin’s brush with the law in June (disorderly conduct) was not a concern for Acta.

“Our kids in the minor leagues are good kids,” he said. “There are things that happen in life like that. I heard enough reports on this kid’s makeup that there were no worries whatsoever.”

The Indians will clear a spot on their 25-man and 40-man rosters today to make room for Tomlin.

Minor details

Jordan Brown produced his third straight multi-hit game and fourth in the last five games Sunday in Columbus’ 5-4 victory over Pawtucket. Brown, who missed most of the first month of the season recovering from knee surgery during spring training, entered Monday batting .769 (10-for-13) with the bases loaded, his 56 RBIs ranking seventh in the International League. … Anthony Reyes will make a rehab start for Double-A Akron today. The right-hander, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, made two rehab appearances for the Arizona League Indians, allowing two earned runs on three hits, while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings.  

Roundin’ third

The Indians’ pitching staff entered Monday owning a 3.75 ERA at home and a 5.11 ERA on the road. … The Yankees have changed Thursday’s starting pitcher to right-hander Dustin Moseley (0-0, 4.22 ERA), replacing previously scheduled starter Sergio Mitre, who has been moved to the bullpen. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Tomlin (MLB debut) vs. Sabathia (13-3, 3.18).

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