CLEVELAND — The Indians had their rally caps on again Tuesday night at Progressive Field, only this time the Angels turned them back around.

For the second straight night Cleveland produced a ninth-inning uprising against its American League rival, but there was no winning hit and no victory celebration at the end of a 2-1 loss to Los Angeles.

The elements were present for another fantastic finish, with the Indians loading the bases with no outs against Angels closer Jordan Walden. But they failed to score — Monday night’s hero Jason Kipnis striking out to end the game after Matt LaPorta bounced into a disastrous double play.

Kipnis’ first career hit, an RBI single Monday, lifted the Indians to their 11th win in their last at-bat at home and their 23rd come-from-behind victory.

“They stopped the magic,” Indians manager Manny Acta said of the Angels, who handed his team its fifth loss in six games, with Cleveland falling two games behind the first-place Tigers in the Central Division standings. “We played good baseball. The only thing we couldn’t get was a key hit.”

That was the case for much of the night, which morphed into a pitching duel between Indians starter Josh Tomlin and Los Angeles’ Jered Weaver, the AL’s starter in the All-Star Game.

Tomlin (11-5, 4.01 ERA) stayed with Weaver (14-4, 1.79) for the majority of the game, which was scoreless through six innings, as neither club was able to break through until the seventh.

That’s when Tomlin finally cracked, allowing a two-run double to Mark Trumbo that proved to be the game-winning hit. With a runner on, the Indians elected to walk Howie Kendrick to get to Trumbo, who made them pay, driving a ball into the gap in right-center.

The Indians also scored in the seventh on LaPorta’s solo home run, but it wasn’t enough to reward Tomlin for another quality effort.

“It’s definitely tough to lose one like that,” Tomlin said. “But I made more mistakes than (Weaver) did, and that’s why we lost the game.”

Tomlin allowed the two runs on just four hits, striking out three over eight innings. He has pitched at least five innings in each of his first 33 career starts, the only pitcher in baseball to accomplish as much since 1919.

“He was in complete command the whole night,” Acta said. “He made one mistake. It’s a shame that Tomlin had to lose it.”

The Indians had a handful of opportunities to get to Weaver before the ninth-inning rally.

Kipnis started the third with a leadoff double — the first hit off Weaver — and put another aboard on a one-out walk to Ezequiel Carrera, but Michael Brantley popped out and Asdrubal Cabrera grounded to second. Brantley also hit into a pair of double plays in the fifth and eighth innings.

Cleveland had runners on first and second with one out in the fourth before LaPorta flew out and Kipnis struck out.

But the most frustrating of failures arrived during the Indians’ last chance for a win.

Consecutive singles from Travis Hafner and Carlos Santana preceded a sacrifice bunt from Lonnie Chisenhall, who reached when the Angels tried unsuccessfully to cut down the lead runner at third.

That brought LaPorta to the plate with a chance to tie the game with a fly ball or win it with a hit. He did neither, bouncing a ground ball to second that was fielded by Kendrick, who threw home for the first out, with the relay beating LaPorta to first.

“He battled and got the count to 3-2,” Acta said of LaPorta. “But the bottom line is, ‘You get your pitches, you’ve got to hit them.’”

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

The Indians had the bases loaded with no outs in the ninth inning but failed to score, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Angels on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

Cleveland rallied in its final at-bat Monday but wasn’t able to repeat the feat, Matt LaPorta hitting into a double play and Jason Kipnis striking out with the bases full in the final inning.

CLEVELAND — With less than a week before the trading deadline, the Indians have yet to make any noise.

“I’m confident we will do everything we can to make a deal,” said general manager Chris Antonetti. “Now, whether that results in a trade is difficult to say. It takes two parties to make a deal. Despite our best efforts, we haven’t been able to line up the right value.

“Our preference would have been to have done something a few weeks ago. Hopefully, over the next day or two, some dominoes will start to fall and that will open the market.”

The Indians are in contention for the first time since 2007, entering Tuesday a game behind the Tigers in the Central Division standings. They have been searching for offensive assistance to improve their chances in the division race, but Antonetti said they have also had talks concerning perspective pitching trades.

“Our philosophy is that we want to take advantage of every opportunity we have to get to the postseason,” Antonetti said. “That being said, you have to be mindful of the cost of doing that. We are prepared to do what’s reasonable to improve the team. But we can’t be limited in our focus to just the last 2 1/2 months. If you make a foolish decision now, it’s one you could regret for multiple years.”

Any trade of significance would most likely involve parting with one or more of the  Indians’ prized prospects. Ideally, Cleveland would bring aboard a player or two with favorable contracts that could replace the prospects.

“To trade our best young players that have multiple years of control, it would have to be a compelling deal,” Antonetti said. “It would be difficult to see us trade our best young players for a player that would only be here for two months. That being said, we’re willing to trade good players and willing to take on salary to improve the team.”

Antonetti said the Indians have exchanged proposals with a number of teams. Still, the deadline could pass with the club doing nothing at all.

“I think it would be (a disappointment) in some sense,” Antonetti said, if the Indians are unable to make a trade. “I feel confident in the way this young group has played and am optimistic about the return of Grady (Sizemore) and (Shin-Soo) Choo. But we have an opportunity to improve our chances and improve our team, and to that extent, I’d like to get something done.”

Wounded Wahoos

Choo (broken left thumb) is able to grip a bat and says he is ahead of schedule in his bid to return before the final month of the season, but Antonetti is reserving judgment.

“I don’t think we’ll know for certain until he starts baseball activities,” Antonetti said. “We’re encouraged by the way he’s progressed.”

(bullet) Alex White (surgery right middle finger) emerged unscathed from his first simulated game Monday, and is scheduled to pitch another today at Double-A Akron. Depending on how White holds up, manager Manny Acta said he would require three to four minor league rehab outings before returning to the Indians as a reliever.

(bullet) Mitch Talbot (lower back strain) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings Monday in a rehab outing with Triple-A Columbus. Talbot, who is out of minor league options, is eligible to leave the disabled list, but with no room in the rotation, he will most likely be designated for assignment. He would then need to clear waivers before being outrighted to Columbus.

Minor details

Beau Mills’ first hit since being promoted to Columbus was a home run, the first baseman connecting on a solo shot in the Clippers’ 4-1 loss to Lehigh Valley on Monday. He was 1-for-9 in three games through Monday. … Drew Pomeranz made his third start since being promoted to Akron, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out six in 4 1/3 innings of the Aeros’ 9-8 loss to Trenton on Monday. The fifth overall draft choice last year, is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts for Akron.

Roundin’ third

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Jason Kipnis is the first Indian to record a walk-off hit as his first career big league hit since the RBI became an official statistic in 1920. … A crowd of 19,384 Monday pushed the Indians over the one-million mark in attendance in their 48th game. They didn’t reach the one-million mark until their 57th home date last year. … Today, 12:05, no television/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Huff (1-0, 0.00) vs. Santana (5-8, 3.69).

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

CLEVELAND — The magic returned to Progressive Field in the nick of time Monday night.

Jason Kipnis gets a hug from David Huff (31) after Kipnis drove in the winning run in the ninth inning yesterday. (AP photo.)

In the midst of a pennant race and seemingly en route to their fifth straight loss, the Indians produced a ninth-inning rally that propelled them to an improbable 3-2 victory over the Angels.

Down 2-1 in their last at-bat, Cleveland tied it on Travis Hafner’s double before Jason Kipnis drove in the winning run with his first career major league hit — a two-out single between first and second off Angels reliever Hisanori Takashi.

The scene conjured up memories from earlier in the season when Cleveland seemed to win at home in dramatic fashion on a nightly basis.

“We’ve done it so many times this year that is has grown into our clubhouse,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose club won for the 11th time in its last at-bat at home and recorded its 23rd come-from-behind victory of the season. “Our guys believe that we can do it. If we get to the ninth inning and the game is close, there’s no rolling over.”

The Indians scored a run in the first off Angels starter Dan Haren and led 1-0 until the eighth inning, when Los Angeles reversed the order on a two-run home run from Bobby Abreu off Vinnie Pestano.

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The game was low-scoring and tight thanks to sparkling efforts from Haren and Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona. Haren allowed just a run on three hits, while striking out 10 over 7 2⁄3 innings.

Carmona didn’t last as long, but he was more than effective, shutting out the Angels on four hits over six innings in what was his second straight positive outing since leaving the disabled list.

“Fausto had to labor a little bit,” Acta said. “He pitched behind in the count a lot. He had to work, but he gave us six scoreless innings.”

After generating two hits to score their run in the first inning, the Indians got only one more before rallying in the ninth against the Angels’ bullpen.

Closer Jordan Walden and his high-90s fastball were on the mound when Michael Brantley led off the final inning with a base hit and then stole second base to put a runner in scoring position.

Asdrubal Cabrera struck out, but Hafner delivered a double to left-center that scored Brantley with the tying run. Carlos Santana walked and Jack Hannahan was hit by a pitch, loading the bases and forcing the Angels into a gimmick defensive maneuver.

With Travis Buck at the plate, Los Angeles brought right fielder Torii Hunter into the infield between first and second, leaving just two players to patrol the outfield. It worked when Buck grounded to Hunter off Takashi and the outfielder made a infielder-like throw to the plate to cut down pinch runner Orlando Cabrera.

The bases were still full when Kipnis, promoted from Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, produced his first hit in six big league at-bats.

“Breaking a losing streak and getting a win, that was the biggest part of the at-bat,” Kipnis said. “I couldn’t do it in the other at-bats, so I figured, ‘Why not do it in this one with everything on the line?’ ”

“Jason Kipnis couldn’t pick a better spot to get his first hit in the big leagues,” Acta said.

The Indians gained ground on the first-place Tigers in the Central Division standings, trailing Detroit by a game.

Though there are two-plus months left in the regular season, the Indians are still keeping tabs on their division rivals, with an eye on qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2007.

“After what we went through last year, why not start watching the scoreboard?” Acta said.

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