Through nearly four months of the season, the Indians, surprisingly enough, looked like contenders for their first Central Division title since 2007.

Now, they just look like posers.

Yes, Cleveland entered Saturday trailing the first-place Tigers by just four games in the standings, which technically qualifies them as a contender. But this is not a playoff team — and far from a championship-caliber one.

The pitching that has carried them for much of the year, has deserted them — even in a top-shelf bullpen, where previously impenetrable relievers Chris Perez, Vinnie Pestano, Tony Sipp and Rafael Perez have all stumbled as of late.

The starting staff has been bolstered by the addition of right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, but outside of Justin Masterson, the rest of the arms in the rotation have been inconsistent at best.

Josh Tomlin, who looked like a Cy Young candidate over the first two months of the season, is scuffling, with opposing teams appearing to figure out what he’s bringing to the mound as they’ve seen him more often, and producing the expected results — bad ones for Tomlin and the Indians.

Carlos Carrasco has been disgraceful over the last month and could be headed to the minors after serving his six-game suspension for throwing at the head of Kansas City’s Billy Butler because he couldn’t get anybody out.

One-time ace Fausto Carmona? The Indians are pleased when the right-hander works a mediocre outing, since the majority of his starts this year have been bad ones. This from a pitcher that finished fourth in Cy Young voting four seasons ago.

The defense, which had been solid for much of the year has been atrocious as of late. If the ball isn’t hit to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera or third baseman Jack Hannahan — when he happens to be in the lineup — look out.

It would figure that an offense that has held the team back for the majority of the season would start to produce right about now. But it isn’t going to last, not if the Indians keep running out the same anemic lineup that has taken the field the past month or so.

Shin-Soo Choo is coming back soon and Grady Sizemore might return before the season is complete. In most years that would be cause to celebrate, but both players have failed to produce up to expectations during an already injury-filled season for both.

The downward slide began in earnest during Cleveland’s first homestand of the second half, when the Indians went 2-6 and dropped three straight series to the White Sox, Angels and Royals — yes, the last-place Royals.

Most recently, the Indians bounced back to show some mettle in hanging with Boston for a split of a four-game series at Fenway Park.

They will point to the pair of one-run losses the Red Sox hung on them as a positive, since both were close games. But those are the games that contenders win — at least one of them.

Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury beat the Indians with game-winning hits in each. Did you know Cleveland took outfielder Trevor Crowe before Ellsbury in the 2005 MLB Draft? The Tribe also selected pitcher Jeremy Sowers before Angels AL All-Star starter Jered Weaver in the 2004 draft.

Just sayin.’

For once, the Indians made some noise at the trading deadline as buyers, not sellers, but they didn’t purchase enough — Jimenez and Kosuke Fukudome — to turn them back into contenders. Jimenez is a great addition for the future, but the Indians needed offense and Fukudome isn’t nearly enough of it now.

It’s all going downhill at this point and the Indians don’t have enough talent to stop the slide, even in a suspect division such as the Central.

Better luck next year, Wahoos.

Power Poll

1. Philadelphia Phillies: With the starting staff these guys have, they aren’t going away for a long time.

2. New York Yankees: Even without A-Rod, the Bronx Bombers have climbed back to the top of the AL East.

3. Boston Red Sox: BoSox are probably still the best overall team in the American League.

4. Atlanta Braves: Second-place to the Phillies in the NL East, the Bravos would be leading every division in baseball, save the AL East.

5. Milwaukee Brewers: Red-hot Brew Crew is starting to put some distance between themselves and the Cardinals in the NL Central race.

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

LORAIN — A Lorain man who jumped from a moving vehicle Thursday afternoon died from his injuries early this morning at about 1 a.m.

Jesse Nichols Jr., 21, jumped from the vehicle 25 feet from the intersection of Colorado and Maine avenues as it traveled west on Colorado Avenue, Sgt. Allan Cornwell wrote in a statement.

Nichols was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center and LifeFlighted to Cleveland Metro Health Medical Center.

Cornwell wrote that the accident remains under investigation.

BOSTON — Justin Masterson took some pressure off new teammate Ubaldo Jimenez at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

Starting pitcher Justin Masterson delivers to the Boston Red Sox during the first inning last night. (AP photo.)

With Jimenez set to make his Indians debut Friday night at Texas, Masterson struck out nine in six innings against his old team, leading the Indians to a 7-3 win over the Red Sox that stopped Cleveland’s two-game losing streak

The win also kept the Indians from falling below .500 for the first time since the third game of the season.

Another loss would have put more on Jimenez’s shoulders Friday night.

“I’m sure he has a lot of other things on his mind as he’s going to go out there, being a part of a new team, but hopefully that may ease a little bit for him,” Masterson said after helping the Indians split the four-game series and win only their fourth in 15 games. “I know he’s going to go out and pitch his game and I think we’ll like what we’re going to see tomorrow.”

Jimenez, acquired in trade with the Rockies, has the ability to be a stopper — but manager Manny Acta says the team now has two starters who can be counted on.

“Right now, our main guy has been Justin Masterson,” the manager said. “He’s a guy who from now on, and for awhile now, we have tried to keep him on the five days routine because he’s the guy that we want to see out there every five days. It’s good that Ubaldo doesn’t have to feel like he’s a guy who’s going to stop it every time.”

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Carlos Santana, who struck out four times Wednesday night, snapped a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning and drove in three runs with three hits, while Travis Hafner and Kosuke Fukodome also collected three hits.

The loss dropped the Red Sox into a tie with the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Yankees, winners of seven straight, come to Fenway for a three-game series starting Friday night. Boston, 8-1 against New York this season, has been in first place since July 7.

Masterson (9-7), traded by Boston to Cleveland in the Victor Martinez deal in 2009, raised his Fenway record to 10-2. He is 15-33 everywhere else. He is also 3-0 against the Red Sox.

“He’s good … we see his best,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “I am sure that he enjoys pitching against us. He’s impressive.”

Masterson tied a major league record with four strikeouts in the second inning, thanks to a wild pitch on a third strike. He is the sixth Indians pitcher — the first since Chuck Finley in 2000 — to fan four in an inning.

He gave up two first-inning runs and a solo homer to Josh Reddick in the fourth. Three relievers finished up, with Chris Perez working the ninth in a non-save situation.

Erik Bedard, making his Red Sox debut after being acquired from Seattle, gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. In his second start since coming off the disabled list, he was on a pitch count and came out after 70 with the score tied 3-all.

Hafner greeted reliever Franklin Morales (0-1) with a long double and, on the next pitch, Santana, already 2 for 2 with an RBI, hit his 16th homer to dead center field. It was only his second home run of the season right-handed.

Hafner’s RBI double off Andrew Miller in the seventh and Fukudome’s RBI double closed the scoring in the ninth.

The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI double by Adrian Gonzalez and run-scoring single by David Ortiz. Gonzalez extended his season-best hitting streak to 14 games with his major league-leading 91st RBI.

The Indians tied the game on Matt LaPorta’s infield hit (Bedard failed to cover first) and an RBI grounder by Austin Kearns in the second, and Santana’s RBI single made it 3-2 in the third. Reddick tied the game again with his fifth homer of the year.

Notes

• The game drew 38,477 a post-World War II record at Fenway.
• Recently acquired Ubaldo Jimenez makes his Indians debut when he faces 10-game winner Derek Holland, who shut the Indians out June 4, in the opener of Cleveland

ELYRIA — A Lorain man was sentenced to four years in prison today for trying to run down two North Ridgeville police officers last year who were trying to arrest him on a domestic violence charge.

Phillips

Jeffrey Phillips, 31, apologized to North Ridgeville Police Chief Michael Freeman, who was a lieutenant at the time and was one of the officers who fired on Phillips, wounding him three times.

Phillips, who had been released from prison six months before the April 1 incident, said he was “panicked” and “scared.”

Common Pleas Judge James Burge told Phillips to “pay attention to his mental health.”

Had Phillips simply allowed himself to be arrested, the domestic violence incident involving his sister would have probably have “gotten taken care of” by now, Burge said.

After the incident, Phillips sued the city regarding his injuries from the gunfire, but he has since dropped the suit.

Before the sentencing, Freeman asked Phillips to change “for the sake of your family.”