CLEVELAND — The Indians aren’t waving the white flag yet, but it is at half-mast and rising quickly.

A pivotal series against first-place Detroit has begun with consecutive losses for Cleveland, which was pummeled 10-1 Tuesday night at Progressive Field to fall 8 1/2 games off the pace of the first-place Tigers.

The Indians got an abysmal performance from their starting pitcher — Fausto Carmona — while the Tigers got a brilliant one from theirs — Rick Porcello — in Detroit’s sixth straight victory over Cleveland.

“It was a series we needed to win,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose team must win today to avoid a three-game sweep. “It puts us in a pretty bad position. Anything is possible, but it puts us in a spot where we have to win a lot of games and we have to get a lot of help.”

No one appeared to give up on the night more than Carmona, who allowed five runs in the opening inning, consequently taking his team and its struggling offense out of the game early.

Carmona (6-14, 5.18 ERA) retired the first two batters he faced before issuing a walk to Delmon Young, then allowing six consecutive singles, as the Tigers took control.

“We we’re never in it,” Acta said. “Fausto didn’t have it from the get-go. They pretty much had their way with him.”

After allowing an RBI double to Miguel Cabrera three batters into the second inning, Carmona was removed, surrendering seven runs on eight hits over 1 1/3 innings — the shortest start by a Cleveland pitcher this year.

“The pitches were not working tonight,” said Carmona, who entered the night with a 3.19 ERA in nine starts since leaving the disabled list. “Everything went to the middle and it was easy to hit.”

Carmona, who hasn’t won a game at home since April 28 against Kansas City, was booed by fans during his outing and even more so after departing in the second.

In perhaps the biggest game of the season for his team, Carmona was at his worst.

“I feel bad,” he said. “Everybody knows that that game was important for us. I felt great, but you saw what happened.”

In a substantial hole from the start, the Indians did little to dig out of it against Porcello, who allowed just a run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander  shut Cleveland out on one hit over the first six innings, with Kosuke Fukudome’s solo home run in the seventh providing the only blemish on Porcello’s line.

“Before you hit you’re already down 5-0,” Acta said. “That’s not easy. Porcello was tough with that sinker. He had us pounding it into the ground all night.”

Porcello retired the side in order in five of the seven innings he worked, needing just 75 pitches to accomplish as much.

Every player in the lineup got at least one hit for Detroit, which outhit the Indians 15-4.

Former Cleveland players, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta played a big part in the victory over their old mates. They combined to go 5-for-9, accounting for five of Detroit’s eight RBIs on the night. Martinez provided the game-winning hit with a three-run homer in the Tigers’ 4-2 win Monday.

The Indians did get some positive news, with right-hander Josh Tomlin set to play catch today. Tomlin (12-7, 4.25 ERA) has been on the disabled list since Aug. 26 with a strained ligament in his right elbow.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

The Indians fell 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers on Tuesday, getting drubbed 10-1 by Detroit at Progressive Field.

Fausto Carmona took the loss after allowing seven runs on eight hits over just 1 1/3 innings — the shortest start by a Cleveland pitcher this season.

Kosuke Fukudome’s solo home run in the seventh scored the Indians’ lone run.

CLEVELAND — The Indians got some good news and some really bad news on the injury front Tuesday.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis was activated from the disabled list and was in the lineup, but starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list and is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday.

Carrasco, 24, is expected to be sidelined for 12-18 months, which means the prospect of him pitching before the 2013 season are slim. The right-hander went 8-9 with a 4.62 ERA in 21 starts for the Indians this year, his best work coming during a five-start stretch in June when he went 4-1 with a 0.98 ERA.

“It’s a big blow to our rotation,” said manager Manny Acta. “Starting with the second half of last year, he showed a lot of the guy we envisioned him to be. He was very valuable to us this year. We could see why this guy was so highly thought of.

“Now that we’re going to be without him for a year, it’s hard to swallow.”

The injury was not considered a serious one when Carrasco was first placed on the disabled list Aug. 8. But the pain lingered, with the Indians believing the ligament damage was caused over time, not by one traumatic event.

With the Indians in need of offense as they hang onto slim title-contention hopes, Kipnis was activated without a rehab assignment after spending close to a month on the injured list with a strained right hamstring.

“Kipnis is basically rehabbing at this level,” Acta said. “He’s fine, but in any other scenario, he would be down there rehabbing.”

Acta said Kipnis, who entered Tuesday batting .279 with six home runs and 11 RBIs in his first 18 big league games, would not play every day at the start. He is expected to miss the series finale with Detroit today.

Kipnis was replaced by Luis Valbuena in the eighth inning. Valbuena was added to the roster from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

In other injury news:

(bullet) Travis Hafner (strained tendon right foot) is on track to returning before the end of the month, but according to head trainer Lonnie Soloff, surgery is still an option should Hafner continue to experience symptoms once he is back on the field.

(bullet) Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo (strained left oblique) has begun taking batting practice and expects to leave the DL on his eligibility date Monday.

Visitation rights

Cleveland’s No. 1 draft pick, shortstop Francisco Lindor, paid his first visit to Progressive Field.

Lindor, 17, made what he called two tough decisions before signing with the Indians and receiving a $2.9 million bonus to begin his professional career. He chose the Indians over Florida State University, and before that, chose to leave his native Puerto Rico to come to the states for high school.

“It was kind of a hard decision,” Lindor said of leaving his homeland to attend Montverde Academy in Orlando, Fla. “But, as you can see, everything has worked out.”

The switch-hitting Lindor played in five games for Class A Mahoning Valley after signing with Cleveland, batting .316 (6-for-19) with two RBIs and an error.

According to scouting director Brad Grant, Lindor will report to the fall Instructional League and the Indians will decide where the top prospect will begin next season after watching him in spring training.

Minor detail

Double-A Akron left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz was named the Indians’ minor league pitcher of the week (Aug. 28-Sept. 3). He recorded two saves over the span, while tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing one hit and striking out six. De La Cruz, signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, made 16 starts for the Aeros before missing over a month with shoulder inflammation and being moved to the bullpen. He entered Tuesday with a 5-6 record and 4.19 ERA in 23 games (16 starts) for Akron.

Roundin’ third

Since blowing consecutive saves, closer Chris Perez had converted five straight and 10 of his last 11 save opportunities and had not allowed an earned run over his last 14 appearances through Monday. … Browns cornerback Joe Haden tossed out one of the ceremonial first pitches. He was decked out in a half- Browns (Colt McCoy), half-Indians jersey (Grady Sizemore), wearing stirrups with the Chief Wahoo logo and an Indians cap. … Today, 12:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Masterson (11-8, 2.92) vs. Verlander (21-5, 2.34).

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is greeted in the dugout by teammates during yesterday's game. (AP photo.)

CLEVELAND — Ubaldo Jimenez came within one pitch of throwing a masterpiece Monday against the Detroit Tigers.

Unfortunately, that pitch turned into a three-run homer by Victor Martinez and gave Detroit all the offense it needed in a 4-2 win over the Tribe. The Tigers now lead Cleveland by 7½ games in the American League Central Division with 24 games to play.

“Especially since we’re playing Detroit, you want to make every pitch perfect, and I was excited right from the start because we have to chase them for first place,” said Jimenez, who only allowed two hits while striking out eight in seven strong innings. “I felt really good, I was really aggressive, and I went after it. Victor is just a great hitter, and I threw the ball right to the middle of the plate. He made me pay.”

Martinez’s 420-foot bomb in the fourth accounted for all three runs allowed by Jimenez, who fell to 8-11 with a 4.66 ERA this season. The right-hander also walked three and hit a batter during his 117-pitch outing before exiting with the Indians trailing 3-1.

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It marked Jimenez’s first home loss since June 12, when he took the mound for Colorado against the Dodgers, and his first career defeat at Progressive Field. He is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four games on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

“Ubaldo threw a good game for us,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He pitched very well, except for one hiccup in that one inning when he gave up the homer that cost him three runs.

“He just had one bad inning, and everybody goes through that. He struggled with his command and it cost him, but he gave us a chance to win through seven innings.”

Miguel Cabrera was the only Tigers batter to reach base in the first three innings, walking on a questionable 3-2 pitch from Jimenez in the second. The Dominican Republic native struck out five in the opening two innings.

Detroit’s initial hit came with one out in the fourth, when Delmon Young sent a shot up the middle. Cabrera then worked out of an 0-2 hole to draw a walk, setting the stage for Martinez’s game-changing homer.

“My biggest mistake was walking Cabrera after I got in front of him,” said Jimenez, who is 2-2 with a 5.27 ERA since being acquired from the Rockies on July 31 for Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Joe Gardner and Matt McBride. “With Victor, I tried to go away with my fastball, but it got too much of the middle of the plate.”

Though Jimenez’s control was not spectacular — throwing 53 balls to 64 strikes — he fought through it with the help of his great fastball. He hit 96 mph on the radar gun early, and was clocked at 92 in the seventh.

Those numbers weren’t good enough to save the Tribe from another defeat, but were exactly what his manager was looking for on Labor Day.

“He was very aggressive with his fastball the first time through the lineup, and he showed what kind of stuff he has out there today,” Acta said. “I’m not going to complain about him going seven innings, allowing two hits, and getting eight strikeouts. We need to score some runs to win. I thought Ubaldo pitched well, very well today.”

Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.