ELYRIA — Police responding to reports of a man causing problems at a bar wound up in a foot chase overnight and had to call in the Fire Department after the fleeing man wound up in the Black River.

Patton

Elyria police were called to Ely’s Inn, 45 East Ave., about 12:30 a.m. for a report of a man sitting at the bar exposing himself to other patrons.

Before police arrived the man had walked out of the bar, and he took off as police approached.

The man, later determined to be Andre Patton, 19, of Elyria, ran north on East Avenue toward Bill Baker’s Appliance, where he disappeared, according to a dispatch narrative of the incident.

As officers searched the area, they “heard a loud splash and could observe large swirls going across the Black River.”

Officers searched the river and bank from both sides for about 10 minutes when they saw the man get out of the river and continue to run north on the riverbank about 50 feet before again falling into the river.

The Fire Department had been called in to light the river from the Washington Avenue bridge when the man again emerged from the river shivering. As firefighters were attempting to get a rope to him to help him up the steep riverbank, officers managed to help him grab trees and other objects and then pull him the rest of the way to the top of the bank.

Patten was taken to the Elyria police station and then to the Lorain County Jail, where is being held on $3,250 bond.

He is charged with resisting arrest and obstructing official business and was to appear in Elyria Municipal Court this morning. Officers speaking with patrons at Ely’s Inn were told Patten had also been waving a gun at patrons outside the bar.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Austin Kearns may not wrestle away the starting job in left field from one of Cleveland’s young upstarts, but it’s a safe bet that when the Indians break training camp, the eight-year veteran will be joining them.

Austin Kearns, right, is congratulated by Travis Hafner after hitting a two-run homer Sunday. Kearns has a good chance to make the Tribe roster in left field or at first base. (AP photo.)

Kearns had a slow start this spring, thanks in part to the club bringing him along cautiously as he returned from right thumb surgery. But he has improved his chances at landing a roster spot thanks to a hot bat that has come at a perfect time.

“His thumb is good and he’s been swinging the bat a lot better the last week or so,” said manager Manny Acta of Kearns, who is hitting .300 (9-for-30) with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs in 12 exhibition games. “He’s a right-handed bat with a track record and some power and he can play all three outfield (positions).

“He’s in the mix with (Trevor) Crowe and those guys (Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta). He’s in that battle. Just like everybody else, he’s tied for first. We’ll make that decision at the end.”

Even if Kearns doesn’t win the job in left, he is also considered a candidate to open the season at first base along with LaPorta, despite never logging an inning there on the big league level. With Russell Branyan (back injury) questionable at best to open the season, Kearns has been taking ground balls at first, and is expected to play there before the exhibition season is complete.

At the very least, it would be surprising not to see Kearns’ name on the opening-day roster as a utility player.

“I knew there was an opportunity here, so that’s what you ask for,” Kearns said. “You just try to come in and play and see what happens.”

Kearns, 29, was a first-round draft pick (seventh overall) of Cincinnati’s in 1998, and after finishing third in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2002, was pegged for stardom in the Reds organization.

Unfortunately for Kearns, that year ended with a strained left hamstring that cut his season short and foreshadowed an injury-plagued career for the Lexington, Ky., native, who has made six more trips to the disabled list since then.

The most bothersome ailment has been an injured right thumb, which according to Kearns, has been an issue since 2004, when he had surgery to remove bone spurs from the area prior to his last full season in Cincinnati. The thumb saga ended on a bizarre note last year, when Kearns underwent more surgery, this time on a cyst and an aneurism.

He was limited to 80 games for the Nationals, batting an embarrassingly low .195 with just three homers and 17 RBIs.

“It was something that was obviously different,” Kearns said of the aneurism, which is usually associated with the brain. “It was a situation, unfortunately, where I played with it too long and got into some bad habits.

“It hasn’t given me any problems (this spring), so that’s a good thing.”

If Kearns, a career .256 hitter, does make the team, he will be reunited with Acta, who was his manager for three seasons in Washington from 2007-09. Kearns, who arrived a year after the Nationals’ inaugural season, has high praise for Cleveland’s new manager.

“He’s very positive and upbeat,” Kearns said. “He’s a player’s guy. He asks you to show up and play hard. I think, as a player, that’s all you can ask for. His qualities are simple, but they’re much needed.”

Kearns also has praise for what he hopes is his new team when the Indians open the season, April 4, in Chicago against the White Sox.

“I knew a few guys here, but there’s a lot more talent here than I thought,” Kearns said. “It’s definitely a positive outlook, I think. I think there are good people from top to bottom (in the organization). I think that’s important.”

Roundin’ third

• Today, 4:05 vs. Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark. WTAM 1100-AM (delayed, 8 p.m.).

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

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — First baseman Russell Branyan has been the invisible man this spring, but he thinks that is about to change.

Branyan

Branyan, who is dealing with a herniated disk in his lower back and has yet to play in an exhibition game, is optimistic that he will be able to make his spring debut soon.

“I’m doing everything but a game,” said Branyan, who has increased his baseball activities this week, hitting off a tee, running and participating in fielding drills. “The game’s coming pretty soon, I think.”

It’s been an agonizingly slow process for Branyan, with the Indians expecting him to begin playing in exhibition games over a week ago, but the back issue preventing that from happening.

“It is what it is,” said Branyan, whose career year with Seattle last year — 31 home runs and 76 RBIs — was cut short at 116 games thanks to the back ailment. “I think it was all set up by the injury I had last year and working hard this offseason to get better. This year for me has just taken a little bit longer. We’re just being smart about it.

“It’s a slow process because we’re building my volume. It’s just really precise. That was the question coming (into spring training), whether I could handle the volume and the long days of camp. That was the million dollar question.”

It’s actually the $2 million question, which is the amount the Indians are obligated to pay Branyan on a one-year contract he signed this offseason as Cleveland’s biggest free-agent acquisition. Though the Indians knew Branyan would be rehabilitating the back injury during spring training, they obviously didn’t envision the slugger opening the year on the disabled list.

According to Cleveland manager Manny Acta, a DL situation can be avoided, should Branyan make it back for the final week of the exhibition season, which begins Monday.

“I think he’s right by saying that,” Branyan said. “I think a week is definitely enough time. The progression I’m on now, I think I have a very good shot of making the opening-day roster. It’s just going to be what they see when I start playing games and whether they think I need more games.

“I think it’s going to be their decision. As long as I continue to progress, I feel very optimistic, but ultimately, it’s going to be Manny’s decision.”

Acta is still sticking with that deadline.

“By the end of (this) weekend we’re going to make the decision to accelerate the process and get the at-bats necessary to be ready for opening day,” he said.

Whatever the case, it has not been a smooth spring for the 34-year-old Branyan, who is back for his fourth stint in Cleveland after being drafted by the Indians in the seventh round of the 1994 draft.

“Camp’s tough on everybody, not just an older guy vs. a younger guy,” said Branyan, who has played for eight teams during a 12-year career. “It’s not the first time I’ve faced adversity in this game.”

Branyan said that even if he does not break camp with the Indians that it wouldn’t be long before he finally arrives.

“I don’t see it dragging on,” he said.

“If we only lose him for a week or two if he’s not ready to begin the regular season, that’s a good thing for us,” Acta said.

The Indians have options at first base should Branyan not answer the opening-day bell.

Matt LaPorta was slated to start the season at first before Cleveland signed Branyan, and veteran Austin Kearns can play the position as well, though he has been an outfielder for the entirety of his eight-year career.

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

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — More players left the building Tuesday, as the Indians made another round of cuts that reduced their spring training roster to 38 players.

Cleveland optioned right-handed reliever Jess Todd to Triple-A Columbus, while reassigning left-hander Mike Gosling and righties Frank Herrmann, Josh Judy and Yohan Pino to minor league camp.

Catcher Damaso Espino, infielder Brian Bixler and infielder/outfielder Shelley Duncan were also reassigned to minor league camp.

Todd, acquired last year as part of a trade with the Cardinals for Mark DeRosa, was a candidate for one of the bullpen openings, but struggled for the majority of the exhibition season. He appeared in five games (41/3 innings) and allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks.

Duncan, a free-agent acquisition this offseason who played in 68 games for the Yankees the past three years, had an outside shot at a utility spot when camp opened. He hit .286 (6-for-21) with a double, a home run and two RBIs in seven games.

Bixler, a Sandusky native, cleared waivers after being designated for assignment, rejoining the big league spring training roster before being sent down Tuesday. He batted .261 (6-for-23) with a triple and an RBI in 15 games.

The Indians need to trim 13 more players off the roster before the regular season opens, April 4, in Chicago against the White Sox.

More are expected to go before Thursday, when manager Manny Acta said he would begin to play his regulars more often to prepare them for the season-opening series against the Sox.

Sowers’ story

Acta confirmed what most already believed. Jeremy Sowers is out of the running to make the opening-day rotation. The left-hander got a late start to training camp with inflammation in his left shoulder.

“It doesn’t look like he’s going to be stretched out enough to be a starter,” Acta said. “We’re going to have to make a decision whether to keep him as a bullpen option or not.”

Sowers made his second exhibition appearance Tuesday and was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) on five hits and two walks. He failed to record an out in the second inning and was relieved.

If Sowers doesn’t make the club as a reliever, he will most likely begin the season on the disabled list.

Brantley rests

Outfielder Michael Brantley was not in the lineup for the second straight day but told reporters prior to the game that his right ankle was not an issue. Brantley left the Indians’ exhibition game in Glendale on Sunday after stepping awkwardly on the ankle while running to first base.

“He’s fine,” Acta said. “Why not give him the day off, then with the off-day (today), he’ll have three days off.”

One of the strongest candidates for the starting job in left field, Brantley is batting .323 (10-for-31) with a double, a triple and four RBIs in 11 games.

Numbers game

If spring training statistics mean anything, the Indians look primed to compete for a Central Division title.

Cleveland entered Tuesday with the lowest exhibition ERA (3.38) in the majors, while leading the American League with 126 runs (6.63 average) in 19 games — second in the big leagues to Colorado’s 141 in 22 games.

Individually, Fausto Carmona ranked second in the Cactus League with a 0.69 ERA — one run on five hits in 13 innings — while Justin Masterson ranked second with 16 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.

Travis Hafner entered Tuesday with hits in his last seven games — .364 (8-for-22) with two homers and 10 RBIs — and had reached base safely in all nine of his games.

Roundin’ third

The Indians will enjoy their only off-day of the exhibition season today. They resume Cactus League play Thursday against the Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark. David Huff (1-1, 6.57) vs. Felix Hernandez (1-0, 0.00). WTAM 1100-AM (delayed 8 p.m.).

Brewers (12-9) 10, Indians (12-6-2) 2

Hits

• Right-hander Carlos Carrasco was the only Cleveland pitcher that didn’t allow a run. He worked five scoreless innings and allowed two hits and two walks, while striking out four.
• Third baseman Mark Grudzielanek was the only Indian with more than one hit. He went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
• Left fielder Trevor Crowe made two sliding catches, one in foul territory to end the second inning with a runner on base.

Misses

• Jeremy Sowers’ second exhibition outing was disastrous. The left-hander allowed seven runs (six earned) on five hits and two walks in one inning. He served up a home run to No. 9 hitter George Kottaras on the first pitch of the second inning, then allowed the next two hitters to reach on singles before getting the hook.
• Reliever Jensen Lewis got similar treatment after coming on for Sowers. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on four hits over two innings.
• Closer Chris Perez was shaky in the ninth. He got the first out of the inning, then walked two straight before allowing an RBI single.

Streak stopped

Travis Hafner went 0-for-4, first time in the last eight games that he did not hit safely. Hafner had reached base in all nine of his games prior to Tuesday.

Attendance

3,552 at Goodyear Ballpark.

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