CLEVELAND – The prognosis is positive for two of the Indians’ high-profiled players on the disabled list – first baseman Russell Branyan (herniated disk lower back) and closer Kerry Wood (strained muscle upper back).

Branyan had his rehab assignment transferred from Triple-A Columbus to Double-A Akron, where he was in the lineup at first base Friday.

Cleveland’s marquee offseason acquisition has yet to play in consecutive rehab games, which manager Manny Acta said he wants to see before activating the slugger.

Branyan went 4-for-14 with two doubles and an RBI in four rehab games for Columbus.

“He’s very close,” Acta said. “He could be joining us pretty soon.”

When he does, the Indians are going to have to make a decision at first base, where Matt LaPorta has been filling in for Branyan.

Wood is farther away from leaving the injured list, but Acta said he is still on track after throwing a bullpen session Thursday. The right-hander is scheduled to throw another bullpen today.

If things go well, Acta said Wood would pitch in a simulated game next week.

Because he is primarily a one-inning pitcher, Wood most likely won’t need a rehab assignment before joining the Indians.

Peralta’s problems

Jhonny Peralta is off to another one of his notoriously slow starts at the plate and doesn’t have a real good explanation for the season-starting slumps.

“Sometimes it’s because it’s too cold. I don’t like to hit in cold,” said Peralta, who entered Friday batting .148 with a home run and four RBIs. “I don’t have a reason. I’m not looking for excuses. I know they’re waiting for me to start good. Hopefully, everything will turn around really soon. It’s really early. We’ll see what happens.”

Peralta, one of the few seasoned veterans in Cleveland’s lineup, admitted to feeling some pressure to start producing.

“I know it’s important because they need me,” he said. “I’m one of the guys that’s going to see a lot of guys on base. I’m one of the guys they need to drive in runs.”

Clutch hitter

Shin-Soo Choo’s penchant for late-game heroics has continued this season. Entering Friday, Choo had six hits, including two homers, in 11 at-bats in the seventh inning or later.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Choo’s .328 batting average from the seventh inning on last year was the seventh-highest in the American League for players with at least 150 at-bats in the situation.

“He’s just a good player, period,” Acta said. “When you’re talented, you have a better chance to succeed than the rest.”

The catch

Though backup catcher Mike Redmond has impressive career numbers against Chicago starter Mark Buehrle – 16-for-37 – Lou Marson was behind the plate Friday.

“We need to play Lou Marson. He’s our starting catcher,” Acta said. “If I went with the match-ups, Lou would never play, because he hasn’t faced any of these guys.”

Marson was the victim on Buehrle’s highlight play in Chicago, losing a base hit when Buehrle fielded a grounder that ricocheted off his leg and, from foul territory down the first-base line, flipped the ball between his legs with his glove to first baseman Paul Konerko.

Look out

A fan seated a few rows behind the Indians dugout was struck above the right eye by LaPorta’s bat after LaPorta lost his lumber when he swung and missed at a third strike in the second inning.

Members of the medical staff attended to the fan and ushered him out of his seat shortly after.

Minor details

Class A Lake County remained the only unbeaten team (8-0) in minor league baseball with a 6-4 victory over Lansing on Thursday. Bo Greenwell stayed hot, going 2-for-5 with an inside-the-park homer and five RBIs. He entered Friday with 10 RBIs in his last three game, batting .433 (13-for-30) on the season.

• Columbus catcher Carlos Santana, Cleveland’s top prospect, was named International League batter of the week over the first week of the season, and entered Friday hitting .423 (11-for-26) with four homers and eight RBIs in his first seven games.

Roundin’ third

Slumping left fielder Michael Brantley (.192 in seven games) was out of the lineup for the second straight game and was replaced by veteran Austin Kearns (.286 in four games).

• David Huff’s complete game against the Rangers on Thursday was the first in the American League this year. The left-hander has 12 victories over the first 25 starts of his big-league career.

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

CLEVELAND – A Mitch Talbot vs. Mark Buehrle matchup didn’t appear to be an ideal one for the Indians, but it worked out pretty well for the home team Friday night at Progressive Field.

Surprisingly enough, Talbot outpitched the White Sox ace, and the Indians won their second straight game, turning back Chicago, 6-2, in front of another sparse crowd (10,421 fans).

Producing Cleveland’s second straight complete game, Talbot allowed just one earned run on six hits, while striking out two, to record the first major league victory and complete game of his career.

Meanwhile, the Indians’ sagging offense struck gold against Buehrle, scoring six times off the left-hander on six hits through six innings.

“It’s awesome to get your first win in a complete game, especially against a pitcher like Mark,” said the 26-year-old Talbot, who retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced, setting the side down in order in the ninth inning.

The back-to-back complete games from David Huff (Thursday) and Talbot were the Indians’ first since Chad Ogea and Charles Nagy accomplished as much in September of 1996.

Talbot, who won one of two openings in the rotation out of spring training, began on shaky ground in his second start of the season, allowing the first two batters he faced to reach base on singles and a solo home run to Paul Konerko to lead off the second inning.

But the right-hander found his groove from there, retiring 12 straight after Konerko’s fourth homer of the year and allowing just one more run the rest of the way. That run was an unearned one, thanks to Shin-Soo Choo over-running a single in the sixth from Mark Teahen that allowed Alexei Ramirez to score on the error.

“He was good with his sinker and his cutter,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta of Talbot. “He set the tone for us. He pounded the strike zone the whole night.

“He didn’t lose his composure. He showed us a lot. This guy has the stuff to compete for us every five days.”

Talbot, who was roughed up in his season debut at Detroit, was in a pinch just once throughout the outing, coming after the Choo error that left a runner on second and no outs, with Chicago trailing 3-2.

After a sacrifice bunt moved Teahen to third, Talbot retired the next two on ground balls to third base, keeping the lead intact.

“You’re going to have a couple situations in every game when you get in a jam and have to get out,” said Talbot, who was acquired this offseason in a trade with Tampa Bay for Kelly Shoppach. “I made the pitches and got out of it.”

Buehrle looked to be in control when he shut the Indians out over the first three innings and took a 1-0 lead into the fourth.

But after starting the inning by walking Jhonny Peralta and retiring the next two hitters, Buehrle allowed a game-tying single to Austin Kearns that scored Peralta, who moved to second on a wild pitch.

Cleveland second baseman Luis Valbuena followed with a two-run homer to right on an 0-1 fastball that put the Indians in front for good.

“I was excited,” said Valbuena. “The game was tied and I was looking for a fastball up and in.”

It was Valbuena’s second homer of the season, both of them coming against aces in Buehrle and Detroit’s Justin Verlander.

“(The power) is there,” Acta said of Valbuena, who hit 10 homers and 25 doubles in 103 games for the Indians last year. “We know he’s got that extra-base pop.”

The Indians broke the game open against Buehrle, scoring three times in the sixth, two on an error by third baseman Mark Teahen, who booted a grounder from catcher Lou Marson.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s double scored Marson from first to provide the final count.

Huff got the shaving cream pie in his face after his complete-game victory Thursday and returned the favor to Talbot while Talbot was conducting his postgame television interview.

In a celebratory Cleveland clubhouse after the game, Indians coaches got into the act, with first base coach Sandy Alomar hitting pitching coach Tim Belcher with the shaving cream while Belcher met with the media.

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

CLEVELAND – A Mitch Talbot vs. Mark Buehrle matchup didn’t appear to be an ideal one for the Indians, but it worked out pretty well for the home team Friday night at Progressive Field.

Surprisingly enough, Talbot outpitched the White Sox ace, and the Indians won their second straight game, turning back Chicago, 6-2, in front of another sparse crowd (10,421 fans).

CLEVELAND – Indians third baseman Jhonny Peralta has mirrored his team’s start to the season, which means he hasn’t been very good.

Peralta, who is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, is hitting a paltry .148 (4-for-27) with a home run and four RBIs in eight games. He is riding an 0-for-8 skid at the plate and doesn’t have a hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Peralta has even added some defensive struggles to the mix, committing two of the Indians’ three errors on the year, both of them coming on throws to first base.

He has been the sore spot for an otherwise near-flawless fielding unit through nine games, though Cleveland manager Manny Acta sees otherwise.

“We’ve been good defensively and Jhonny has been good defensively for us,” Acta said. “It just so happens, that he has committed two of the three errors. But he’s made some good plays over there. We’re not worried about Jhonny, defensively.”

This is Peralta’s first full season as Cleveland’s starter at third after being bumped from shortstop by Asdrubal Cabrera in the middle of last year. Both player and manager said this spring that they believed Peralta had turned the page on his shortstop days.

That wasn’t the case in 2009, as Peralta struggled to adapt to his new position. It affected him at the plate, where he batted just .254 with 11 home runs. The home run total was the lowest in six seasons for the franchise leader in homers by a shortstop.

Russ Bus stop?

It appears Russell Branyan is nearing activation from the disabled list.

The Indians’ projected starting first baseman, who missed all of the exhibition season with a herniated disk in his lower back, had his rehab assignment transferred from Triple-A Columbus to Double-A Akron — closer to Cleveland.

Branyan was at Progressive Field on Thursday, moving into his locker in the home clubhouse.

In four rehab games for Columbus, Branyan went 4-for-14 with two doubles and an RBI.

It would not be surprising to see him activated before the end of the week.

Minor detail

At 7-0 entering Thursday, Single-A Lake County was the only unbeaten team in the minor leagues. The Captains have gotten a lift from outfielder Bo Greenwell, the son of former big leaguer, Mike Greenwell. He was batting .440 (11-for-25) with eight runs and five stolen bases in seven games through Wednesday.

Cleveland’s minor league affiliates entered Thursday with a combined 20-8 record – tops in the majors.

Next up

The Indians and White Sox quickly rekindle their Central Division rivalry with a three-game series at Progressive Field that begins tonight at 7:05.

Mitch Talbot (0-1, 7.20 ERA) takes on Sox ace Mark Buehrle (2-0, 2.40) in the series opener, with Jake Westbrook (0-1, 7.45) going against RHP Jake Peavy (0-0, 8.44) Saturday (4:10 p.m.). Fausto Carmona (1-0, 3.21) pitches the series finale Sunday (1:05 p.m.), while Chicago counters with RHP Gavin Floyd (0-1, 4.50).

The Indians took two of three games from the White Sox in Chicago to open the season.

Roundin’ third

The Indians snapped a seven-game home losing skid to Texas, beating the Rangers for just the second time in the last 12 games overall. … Cabrera snapped an 0-for-15 skid at the plate with a single in the fifth inning. … Former Indian Ryan Garko was in the lineup for Texas, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He is without a hit in four games (seven at-bats) this season. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WEOL 930-AM/WTAM 1100-AM.