CLEVELAND — So much for get­ting off to a fast start.

New Indians manager Manny Acta preached all spring that his club needed to hit the ground run­ning from spring training.

It appeared it had, when Cleve­land took two of three from the White Sox in Chicago to start the season, but since then, the Indians have dropped five straight games.

There was a silver lining to the latest defeat Wednesday night, a 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers: only 10,071 fans — the smallest crowd ever at Jacobs/Progressive Field — were around to see it.

“There’s no magic trick for stop­ping (losing streaks),” said Acta, whose club has lost seven straight home games to the Rangers, dating back to last season. “Obviously, you don’t want them to go too long, but there’s not a switch I can flip.

More photos below.

“You’ve got to keep going out there and fighting. You need to get out there and pitch, score runs and catch the ball.”

The Indians did none of that well in the sec­ond game of the series, but a lack of offense was again the primary root of the loss.

Cleveland mustered just five hits to Texas’ 15 and failed miserably with runners in scoring position (1-for-10 with 12 left on base).

Texas’ scheduled starter, C.J. Wilson, was scratched after developing a case of food poison­ing and was replaced by right-hander Colby Lewis, who did his best to make Indians hitters sick.

Lewis allowed two runs (none through the first five innings) on three hits over 5 1/ 3 innings, strik­ing out a career-high 10 batters. With Lewis on the mound, Cleveland struck out nine times in 14 at-bats from the end of the first inning to the first out of the fifth. The Indians fanned 12 times for the game.

“Most of the game lies in our inability to drive in runners in scoring position,” Acta said. “We’ve been doing a good job with runners in scoring position, but two runs and five hits aren’t going to get you very far at this level unless you have dominant pitching.

“The tone was set in the first inning.”

In the opening inning, the Indians loaded the bases with one out, yet failed to score when Jhonny Peralta and Matt LaPorta struck out in succession to end the threat.

Peralta had a rough night, going 0-for-3, striking out once and hitting into an inning-ending double play with two on in the seventh. He also commit­ted an error that led to two runs in the third.

There was even a negative spin on the one hit the Indians mustered with runners in scoring position, when a fan down the right-field line grabbed Michael Brantley’s two-run double in the sixth, depriving Cleveland of another run that would have made it 4-3.

Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson could have used more support from his offense.

In his second start of the season, the right­hander allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits, while striking out nine over six innings.

Masterson struggled early, allowing all of his runs over the first three innings, before finding his groove and shutting out Texas on one hit over his final three innings of work.

“I got into some 2-0 counts (early) and they just crushed the ball,” said Masterson, who has gone nine straight starts without a win, dating back to last season. “I felt even early on, when I was able to get ahead, things worked out well for me. Overall, I felt pretty good about what I did.”

“The first three innings those lefties just wore him out,” Acta said of Masterson, who has tradi­tionally struggled against left-handed hitters. “The second part of the game he pitched very well.”

Down 2-0 in the third, a low throw to first from Peralta allowed the leadoff batter, Michael Young, to reach base on the error. The Indians got two outs before Nelson Cruz belted a home run to right field that put the Rangers in front 4-0.

Cruz, who hit the game-winning homer in the 10th inning of Cleveland’s 4-2 loss in the home opener, has six homers and 12 RBIs over the Rangers’ first eight games — both accounting for team records.

If there is anything positive to take from the Indians’ slow start, it’s been that they have been in nearly every game. Cleveland has lost four times by two runs and once by a run.

“We just have to keep fighting,” Masterson said. “We’ve had a lot of chances and have been close. We’ve just found ways to lose it or not take advantage of opportunities to win it.”

Today

• Who: Cleveland vs. Texas
• Time: 12:05 p.m.
• Where: Progressive Field
• Pitchers: Huff (0-1, 1.50 ERA) vs. Harrison (0-0. 1.50)
• TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

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

CLEVELAND — What was expected to be one of the Indi­ans’ strengths has been a major weakness.

Through the first seven games of the season, Cleve­land’s offense scored a total of 27 runs (3.43 per game), which ranked second-to-last in the American League. The Indians’ .221 batting average through Tuesday ranked 12th in the AL, while their slugging percentage (.336) and on-base percentage (.302), ranked second-to-last.

“We’re fine,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose team entered Wednesday with only five home runs (12th in the AL).

“We’ve been in every game so far. We’ve been having qual­ity at-bats even in the games we haven’t won. It will take time, but some of these guys will start clicking.”

No player in the starting lineup Wednesday owned a batting average at .300 or above, with second baseman Luis Valbuena (.200), third baseman Jhonny Peralta (.174), left fielder Michael Brantley (.174) and catcher Lou Marson (.077) struggling the most.

There have been some posi­tives at the plate.

Shin-Soo Choo appears to be picking up steam after a slow start, entering Wednesday with four hits, two homers, two RBIs and four runs in his last six at­bats.

First baseman Matt LaPorta recorded hits in three of his first four at-bats with runners in scoring position.

And injury-prone designated hitter Travis Hafner is off to an adequate start, with a .269 average, one homer and three RBIs. More importantly, Hafner, who was in the lineup Wednesday, has played in all of Cleveland’s games.

“We’re very encouraged by that,” Acta said. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to play him every day, but we’re satisfied with where he’s at health-wise.”

Grady’s back

Grady Sizemore returned to the lineup after missing two games with a tight back.

Injuries sidetracked Sizemore last year, the center fielder batting a career-low .248, and undergoing a pair of surgeries (left elbow and lower abdominal wall) at the end of the season.

Chris Perez fine, too

Acta isn’t concerned with the recent struggles of closer Chris Perez, who has pitched poorly his last two times out after starting the season with consecutive saves.

“He’s fine,” Acta said. “It’s tough to be perfect in this game, especially when you’re a closer.

It’s two games. We’re not talking about a month here.”

Perez has not handled failure well, questioning an umpire’s call, calling out Marson and saying he doesn’t deserve to be in the ninth­inning role. “He’s just a young kid,” Acta said of the 24-year-old right­hander.

“At least he’s accountable. We have no worries about him losing the job. I feel that Chris has the stuff to do it.”

Perez is filling in for injured closer Kerry Wood, who is scheduled to throw his second bullpen session Friday. Acta said the Indians would not try to expedite Wood’s return in light of Perez’s recent struggles.

“We will not put anybody in jeopardy just because somebody else is struggling,” he said.

Branyan report

Russell Branyan (herniated disk in lower back) did not play Tuesday but was in the lineup for Triple-A Columbus at designated hitter Wednesday.

Branyan had played in three rehab games for the Clippers through Tuesday, going 3-for-10 with a double and an RBI, and could be activated before the end of the week.

Roundin’ third

Fausto Carmona has limited opposing hitters to a .133 average over his first two starts, the lowest in the AL for pitchers with at least seven innings.

Every player in the majors taking the field today will wear No. 42 in honor of the game’s first black player, Jackie Robinson.

Chiemela Ubagharaji, a sophomore at Oberlin College, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, representing the Jackie Robinson foundation.

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

CLEVELAND – So much for getting off to a fast start.

New Indians manager Manny Acta preached all spring that his club needed to hit the ground running from spring training.

It appeared it had, when Cleveland took two of three from the White Sox in Chicago to start the season, but since then, the Indians have dropped five straight games.

There was a silver lining to the latest defeat Wednesday night, a 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers, with few fans around to see it – 10,071, which accounted for the smallest crowd ever at Jacobs/Progressive Field.

“There’s no magic trick for stopping (losing streaks),” said Acta, whose club has lost seven straight home games to the Rangers, dating back to last season. “Obviously, you don’t want them to go too long, but there’s not a switch I can flip.

“You’ve got to keep going out there and fighting. You need to get out there and pitch, score runs and catch the ball.”

The Indians did none of that well in the second game of the series against Texas, but a lack of offense was again at the primary root of the loss.

Cleveland mustered just five hits to Texas’ 15 and failed miserable with runners in scoring position (1-for-10), while leaving 12 on base.

Texas’ scheduled starter C.J. Wilson was scratched after developing a case of food poisoning and was replaced by right-hander Colby Lewis, who did his best to make Indians hitters sick.

Lewis allowed two runs (none through the first five innings) on three hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out a career-high 10 batters. With Lewis on the mound, Cleveland struck out nine times in 14 at-bats from the end of the first inning to the first out of the fifth. The Indians fanned 12 times for the game.

“Most of the game lie in our inability to drive in runners in scoring position,” Acta said. “We’ve been doing a good job with runners in scoring position, but two runs and five hits aren’t going to get you very far at this level unless you have dominant pitching.

“The tone was set in the first inning.”

In the opening inning, the Indians loaded the bases with one out, yet failed to score when Jhonny Peralta and Matt LaPorta struck out in succession to end the threat.

Peralta had a rough night, going 0-for-3, striking out once and hitting into an inning-ending double play with two on in the seventh. He also committed an error that led to two runs in the third.

There was even a negative spin on the one hit the Indians mustered with runners in scoring position, when a fan down the right-field line grabbed Michael Brantley’s two-run double in the sixth, depriving Cleveland of another run that would have made it 4-3.   

Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson could have used more support from his offense.

In his second start of the season, the right-hander allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits, while striking out nine over six innings.

Masterson struggled early, allowing all of his runs over the first three innings, before finding his groove and shutting out Texas on one hit over his final three innings of work.

“I got into some 2-0 counts (early) and they just crushed the ball,” said Masterson, who has gone nine straight starts without a win, dating back to last season. “I felt even early on, when I was able to get ahead, things worked out well for me. Overall, I felt pretty good about what I did.”

“The first three innings those lefties just wore him out,” Acta said of Masterson, who has traditionally struggled against left-handed hitters. “The second part of the game he pitched very well.”

Down 2-0 in the third, a low throw to first from Peralta allowed the leadoff batter, Michael Young, to reach base on the error. The Indians got two outs before Nelson Cruz belted a home run to right field that put the Rangers in front 4-0.

Cruz, who hit the game-winning homer in the 10^th inning of Cleveland’s 4-2 loss in the home opener, has six homers and 12 RBIs over the Rangers’ first eight games – both accounting for team records.

If there is anything positive to take from the Indians’ slow start, it’s been that they have been in nearly every game. Cleveland has lost four times by two runs and once by a run.

“We just have to keep fighting,” Masterson said. “We’ve had a lot of chances and have been close. We’ve just found ways to lose it or not take advantage of opportunities to win it.”

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

The smallest crowd in Jacobs/Progressive Field history – 10,071 fans — watched the Indians drop a 6-2 decision to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

It was Cleveland’s fifth straight loss after beginning the season 2-1.