CLEVELAND – Fausto Carmona took the mound as an All-Star on Sunday at Progressive Field. Then, he took the loss.

Despite pitching well enough to receive a better fate, Carmona was on the losing end of a 3-1 victory by the A’s. A lack of run support against Oakland’s unheralded Vin Mazzaro was at the root of the setback.

“Fausto gave us another quality start,” manager Manny Acta said of the right-hander, who allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings. “Mazzaro was just tough on us. We couldn’t do anything against him.”

Cleveland scored just once in 71/3 innings against Mazzaro, who allowed seven hits and struck out seven. The innings count and strikeout total were season highs for the right-hander, who retired 11 of the 12 hitters from the fourth inning through the seventh.

Carmona walked the first batter of the game, then allowed a run on a passed ball and two groundouts.

The Indians tied the game in the third on three two-out singles, the last by Austin Kearns. Oakland took the lead for good on an RBI single from Mark Ellis in the fourth.

Carmona allowed a leadoff homer to Adam Rosales but was able to finish the seventh inning, providing the Indians with his 13th quality start in 17 outings this season.

Though it would have been understandable, Carmona said he had no trouble maintaining his composure after being notified that he had been selected to his first All-Star Game.

“Manny told me before the game but I didn’t think about that,” said Carmona, who fell to 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA. “I was thinking about my game and winning. We didn’t win but I’m happy with how I pitched.”

The Indians, who outhit Oakland 8-7, managed just two hits over the final five innings against Mazarro, Jerry Blevins and closer Andrew Bailey.

Jhonny Peralta singled with one out in the ninth inning off Bailey, but was erased when Matt LaPorta bounced into a game-ending double play.

Though his team won just one of the two series it played on the homestand, sweeping Toronto before losing two of three to Oakland, Acta was pleased with the performance.

“It was a very good homestand,” he said. “Very few times do you split two series and call it a good homestand, but 5-2, I’ll take that.”

Derailed by another slow start to the season and injuries that claimed two of their top players – shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and center fielder Grady Sizemore – for the majority of the first half, the Indians reached the midway point of the year at 32-49.

It is the same record as last season.

“When we left Arizona, we weren’t anticipating what is going on,” Acta said of the injuries to Cabrera, Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. “I think our starting pitching has exceeded the expectations on them. The offense has been another story with two of our best hitters injured for most of the first half, and now another one.

“It’s been good to watch some of these kids develop up here.”

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

CLEVELAND – Though he may have benefited from an injury to one of his teammates, Fausto Carmona is going to his first All-Star Game.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo appeared to be the obvious choice as the Indians’ lone representative to the Midsummer Classic on July 13 in Anaheim, Calif., but Choo won’t be available after being placed on the disabled list Sunday with a right thumb sprain.

That may have factored into American League manager Joe Girardi’s decision to pick Carmona, but Choo was not among the nine names selected via the player vote, nor was he among the five players selected for fan Internet voting that will determine the final member of the AL’s 34-man roster.

Outfielders Josh Hamilton (Texas), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) and Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay) were voted into the starting lineup by fans, with Toronto’s Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista and Los Angeles’ Torii Hunter named as reserves by the player vote. Nick Swisher (New York) and Delmon Young (Minnesota) are two of the five players with the opportunity to grab the final roster spot.

That’s eight outfielders picked ahead of Choo, who is batting .286 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs and possesses one of the strongest arms in the game.

“Nothing surprises me in this game,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “There are a lot of outfielders having good seasons. You have to respect the other outfielders.

“He’s our all-star. We know he’s been our all-star, but not everyone is going to get in. Someone is snubbed every year.”

Some would say Carmona was snubbed in 2007, when he went 10-4 with a 3.85 ERA before the break but was left off the AL All-Star roster. He finished that season at 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA, good for fourth place in Cy Young voting.

The right-hander has certainly reversed his fortunes from the past two years, when he posted a combined record of 13-19 and pitched his way out of the rotation and into the Arizona Rookie League in 2009.

Carmona, who took the loss Sunday despite pitching well, is 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA, producing 13 quality starts in his 17 outings.

“I’m excited for Fausto,” Acta said. “I think it’s been a tremendous turnaround. He deserves all the credit. He’s given us a chance to win every five days.

“I’m just thrilled that he could go from those down years in 2008 and 2009 to being an All-Star.”

A move on the pitching rubber to the first base side is just one of the things Carmona points to in helping him bounce back this year.

“I went to the Dominican (in the offseason) and worked hard,” Carmona said. “I worked on my mechanics. That gave me a lot of trouble last year.”

Carmona got a hand from the Progressive Field crowd when it was announced in the second inning of a 3-1 loss to Oakland that he had been named an All-Star.

Acta informed the pitcher of the news before he took the mound.

“I’m happy for that, very, very happy,” Carmona said. “It’s my first time going. I’m surprised.”

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

CLEVELAND – The injury to outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is more serious than expected.

Choo was officially placed on the disabled list Sunday with a sprained right thumb, the Indians recalling outfielder Michael Brantley from Triple-A Columbus to replace him on the 25-man roster.

Though the Indians did not disclose a timetable for his return, Choo told several teammates in the clubhouse prior to the game that he would be sidelined for 6-8 weeks.

Initially, the Indians did not think Choo was a candidate for the injured list.

“We don’t know exactly how long he will be out,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “It’s obviously serious, more serious than we thought. He’s going to be looked at again Tuesday and evaluated. Surgery is a possibility.”

Acta was asked if the potential surgery would end Choo’s year.

“I don’t think it will be season-ending, but he probably wouldn’t be back until the last month of the season,” he said.

It is the latest injury blow to the last-place Indians, who have begun to play better but now have the top three hitters in their opening-day lineup – Asdrubal Cabrera, Grady Sizemore and Choo – on the DL.

Choo is hitting .286 with a team-leading 13 home runs, 43 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. His .390 on-base percentage ranked 10th in the American League through Saturday.

“It’s tough for the club but mainly for him, because he was on his way to having a very good season,” Acta said. “He was leading the club in just about every category. It’s going to be tough for one guy to come in here and take over for Choo. He was doing everything for us.”

Brantley bit

Brantley is expected to replace Trevor Crowe in the leadoff spot and in center field until Choo mends. He filled both spots Sunday, while Crowe moved to left field and hit eighth. Austin Kearns replaced Choo in right.

Brantley, Cleveland’s opening-day starter in left field, made the most of his time at Columbus, batting .315 with three homers, 26 RBIs and 47 runs in 59 games since his demotion April 19. He was recently named to the International League All-Star team.

Oops

Catcher Carlos Santana hasn’t made many mistakes since being promoted from the minors, but he made a mental one Sunday.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Santana caught a strike on a 2-1 pitch to Jack Cust and headed to the dugout with the ball, mistakenly thinking Fausto Carmona had recorded a strikeout.

An embarrassed Santana never made it to the dugout, turning around and trotting back onto the field. Cust wound up walking.

Next up

The Indians finish the first half of the season on the road, beginning a seven-game trip tonight in Texas at 8:05.

Aaron Laffey (1-2, 5.55 ERA) opens the set, opposing RHP Omar Beltre (0-0, 6.75), while Justin Masterson (3-7, 4.85) goes Tuesday (8:05 p.m.) against LHP C.J. Wilson (6-4, 3.34).

Mitch Talbot (8-7, 3.86) starts the series finale Wednesday (8:05 p.m.), while the Rangers counter with RHP Colby Lewis (7-5, 3.35).

The Indians play a four-game series in Tampa Bay before the All-Star break.

Minor details

Demoted second baseman Luis Valbuena hit his second homer for Columbus in the Clippers’ 7-1 victory over Toledo on Saturday. Valbuena entered Sunday batting .294 (10-for-34) with two doubles, a triple, two homers and seven RBIs in eight games since being sent down.

** Josh Tomlin got the win for Columbus, working seven scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out six. The right-hander is making a strong push to make his major league debut at some point this season, going 8-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 17 games (14 starts) for the Clippers.

Roundin’ third

The Indians extended their streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit to 30, which is the longest streak by an AL team this season.

** The homer Carmona allowed to Adam Rosales in the seventh inning was the first allowed by a Cleveland pitcher in 62 innings. It also snapped the 83-inning homerless streak at home, which is the longest by the Indians since a 93-inning stretch in 1991.

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