CLEVELAND — The White Sox didn’t even need their manager or starting pitcher to beat the Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Ozzie Guillen and Mark Buehrle were ejected early by first base umpire Joe West after arguing balk calls, but it didn’t hold the Sox back from handing the Indians another loss.

Jake Westbrook worked a subpar outing, the Indians’ sagging offense continued to struggle and Cleveland’s defense committed a season-high four errors as the home team slumped to a 5-4 defeat.

The Indians staged a rally in the ninth inning, but even that fell short. Cleveland scored three times off closer Bobby Jenks and loaded the bases with one out before losing for the eighth time in 10 games.

“We put up a fight at the end, but we continue to be inconsistent with our situational hitting,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose club went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

More photos below.

Cleveland’s fight followed the confrontation between West, Guillen and Buehrle, which began after West called Chicago’s left-hander for a balk in the second inning.

Just like balls and strikes, players and managers are not permitted to argue balk calls without consequences.

But Guillen said that wasn’t why he left the dugout to confront West.

“I know you’re not allowed to talk about balks,” Guillen said. “I just wanted to ask him why he was embarrassing Buehrle. He gave me one of these (a dismissive hand wave).”

The wave from West, who ripped the Yankees and Red Sox for slow play earlier in the season and who has a reputation for being confrontational, was what infuriated Chicago’s manager.

Guillen made a point of calling West a good umpire, but he also called the veteran of 32 seasons a double expletive.

“When you’re a professional, you have to respect the umpires, but the umpires are supposed to respect back,” Guillen said. “I think I deserve respect, and players deserve respect. When you tell the manager to get the (expletive) off the field, I don’t think that’s a good way to handle it.

“Sometimes he thinks (expletive) people pay to watch him (expletive) umpire.”

West downplayed the incident.

“Ozzie came out because Buehrle was making gestures on the mound that could have gotten him kicked out, so he was protecting Buehrle,” West said. “That’s all he was doing. I don’t have a problem with that.”

After being called for another balk in the third inning and getting ejected for tossing his glove in response, Buehrle definitely had a problem with West.

“(Eleven) years in the big leagues, I’ve used the same move,” Buehrle said. “I still don’t know what he called a balk on. I honestly don’t think I balked either time.

“I was in the wrong for throwing my glove. I didn’t know what I was doing. I shrugged my shoulders and the glove kind of fell off. I wasn’t trying to show him up by throwing the glove.”

Buehrle delivered a zinger – which will likely earn him a fine — on the country-music-singing umpire.
“I think he’s too worried about promoting his CD,” Buehrle said. “And I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little too much instead of worrying about the rules.”

Acta had little to say about the incident.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s irrelevant to me. I manage the Cleveland Indians.”
Even with Buehrle gone, the Indians produced little offense until the final inning, scoring once over the first eight innings.

“It was disappointing, because that’s the game plan for every team in every game, getting that starting pitcher out of the game and getting to the bullpen,” Acta said. “He was out of the game early and we couldn’t take advantage of it.”

Westbrook lasted seven innings, but he put the Indians in a 5-1 hole after six.

The right-hander allowed three runs in the fourth, but it was the two-run home run he surrendered to Mark Kotsay in the sixth that stuck with him.

“It was just a bad cutter,” Westbrook said of the first pitch he threw to Kotsay. “It wasn’t even close to being a good pitch. Sometimes you make mistakes and they cost you the ballgame and that’s what happened today.

“I didn’t make any big pitches when I needed to. That kind of put it out of reach. It was frustrating because I felt like I was throwing the ball well. I just threw a couple bad pitches.”

The Indians were plagued by mistakes for much of the day.

Russell Branyan was thrown out trying to advance to third on a one-out groundball from Matt LaPorta that took the Indians out of a potential big inning.

And fielding miscues were at a maximum as left fielder Austin Kearns, shortstop Jason Donald, third baseman Jhonny Peralta and first baseman Branyan all committed errors.

“It was probably our worst defensive game of the year,” Acta said.

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

CLEVELAND – Mitch Talbot is making an early bid for American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Through nine starts, the Indians’ Cinderella story who was acquired this offseason in a trade with Tampa Bay for catcher Kelly Shoppach, has posted a 6-3 record and 3.73 ERA. The win total is tops in the majors among first-year pitchers, and ranked second overall in the AL to Boston’s Clay Buchholz through Tuesday.

Talbot’s innings count of 60 1/3 is also tops among AL rookie pitchers.

“Your record is in the back of your mind and you always want to improve it,” said Talbot, who tossed the first complete game of his career to earn his first big-league win in just his second start of the season. “But I’m just thinking about going out and doing my job and getting outs.”

Still, Talbot, who spent seven seasons toiling in the minor leagues before getting his shot with the Indians this year, has allowed himself to reflect on his body of work thus far.  

“It’s cool for me,” he said, “to go from this guy that’s been in Triple-A forever and to come out and be effective in the big leagues.”

Squeeze it

Indians second baseman Luis Valbuena executed a squeeze bunt to score Austin Kearns in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-3 victory over the White Sox.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first successful squeeze bunt by the Indians since May 17, 2003, when Omar Vizquel scored Matt Lawton in the eighth inning of a 4-2 win over Oakland.

Next up

The Indians are off today, beginning a 10-game road trip Friday with a four-game series against the Yankees.

Fausto Carmona (4-2, 3.45 ERA) opens the set against New York (7:05 p.m.), opposing RHP Phil Hughes (5-1, 2.72), while David Huff (2-6, 5.25) goes Saturday (1:05 p.m.) against LHP CC Sabathia (4-3, 3.86).

Justin Masterson (0-5, 6.13) is the scheduled starter for Cleveland on Sunday (1:05 p.m.), while the Yankees counter with RHP AJ Burnett (4-2, 3.55).

Talbot (6-3, 3.73) pitches the series finale Monday (1:05 p.m.) against LHP Andy Pettitte (5-1, 2.68).  

Minor details

Carlos Santana hit his 10^th home run in Triple-A Columbus’ 5-3 loss to Charlotte on Tuesday. Entering Wednesday, Santana led the International League in on-base percentage (.447) and walks (35), ranked third in slugging percentage (.573), OPS (1.020) and homers and fourth with 40 RBIs in 44 games. … RHP Trey Haley helped Class A Lake County to a 1-0 win over Dayton on Tuesday, allowing just three hits over six innings. Haley, a second-round draft pick in 2008 out of Texas’ San Augustine High School, is 4-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 10 starts, allowing three hits or less in six of them.   

Roundin’ third

Travis Hafner walked as a pinch hitter Wednesday, keeping his 12 game-hitting streak intact, which accounts for the second-longest streak of his career. It is the longest streak by a Cleveland player this season and the fourth-longest in the AL. … Buehrle is the first Chicago pitcher to balk twice in one game since Indians bullpen coach Scott Radinsky accomplished the dubious feat in 1993. … Friday, 7:05 p.m., Channel 3/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM.

The Indians rallied for three runs in the ninth inning but it wasn’t enough to stave off a 5-4 defeat to the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.

The Indians scored three times and loaded the bases with one out off closer Bobby Jenks but couldn’t push the tying run across the plate.

The loss gave the series to the Sox, with Cleveland losing for the eighth time in 10 games.

CLEVELAND —Who would have thought the Indians’ fifth starter would pitch like their ace?

That’s the way things have played out this season, with rookie right-hander Mitch Talbot shining brighter than any other pitcher in the rotation. He added another gem to an already sparkling resume Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

Talbot allowed just two runs on six hits over seven innings to outduel former Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy and the White Sox and help Cleveland to a 7-3 victory.

He returned to his role as skid stopper, winning for the fifth time following a loss.

“Talbot was fantastic,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “That’s what’s so great about this game. On any given night a guy like Mitch can beat a guy like Peavy.

“I think Mitch deserves all the credit. He didn’t make us play catch-up and gave us a chance to score some runs.” Talbot (6-3, 3.73 ERA) shut out the Sox on two hits over the first six innings before running into his only trouble of the night in a two-run seventh inning.

More photos below.

The White Sox produced four doubles in the inning, but Talbot still kept the damage to a minimum.

“Tonight was one of those nights where everything felt like it was there,” said Talbot, who threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of 25 hitters. “It’s fun to pitch on those nights.”

The Indians backed Talbot with some rare offensive support, scoring six times off Peavy over six innings.

A solo home run from shortstop Jason Donald to lead off the third got the Indians started, with Cleveland scoring three times, once on a solo shot from Shin-Soo Choo.

“It was exciting to see Jason Donald do that,” Acta said. “He lit a fire there.”

It was the first career homer for the 25-year-old Donald, who was promoted from Triple-A Columbus to fill in for an injured Asdrubal Cabrera.

“I think that’s the best I got in me, so if that didn’t get out, I don’t know,” Donald said of his drive to left field that traveled an estimated 388 feet on an 0-1 pitch. “(Peavy) is one of the best arms in the game. I just feel real fortunate. It’s something I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life.”

The Indians put up another three-run inning in the sixth, as Austin Kearns, Russell Branyan and Jhonny Peralta reached base to lead things off. Peralta’s double drove in the first run, while sacrifice flies from Luis Valbuena and Lou Marson plated the other two. Valbuena drove in a pair of runs on sacrifices, laying down a perfect squeeze bunt in the ninth for an insurance run.

Four Cleveland players — Choo, Travis Hafner, Kearns and Peralta — produced multihit games, accounting for eight of the Indians’ 10 hits.

But Talbot was the story, continuing his Cinderella season.

Cleveland traded for Talbot in the offseason, giving up catcher Kelly Shoppach to Tampa Bay. Needless to say, it’s worked out well for the Indians.

“He was ready to come up to the big leagues and face the next step,” Acta said. “It was the right time and the right place for him to get a chance on the big league level.

“I think he’s been (our) most effective (starting pitcher).”

Today

• Who: Cleveland vs. Chicago
• Time: 12:05
• Where: Progressive Field
• Pitchers: Westbrook (2-2, 4.56 ERA) vs. Buehrle (3-5, 4.55)
• TV/radio: WGN; WEOL 930­AM, WTAM 1100-AM

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