CLEVELAND — The Indians’ season-long parade of top prospects marched on Friday at Progressive Field.

Jason Kipnis started at second base and batted eighth in his first big league game, going 0-for-2 and being hit by a pitch as the Tribe dropped a 3-0 decision to the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland’s 2010 Minor League Player of the Year had been promoted from Triple-A Columbus a day earlier.

“We brought Jason up because we feel he can help us win games,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He’s not a finished product, and neither is Lonnie (Chisenhall), but we still feel like he can help us win.

“In an ideal situation, you’d let them finish developing in the minor leagues, but we do feel like some of these guys can finish their development here.”

Kipnis failed to record a hit on the very humid evening, but made two strong defensive plays in front of a crowd that included his parents, Mark and Kay.

The Tribe’s second-round draft choice in 2009 sprinted down the right-field line to grab a Carlos Quentin fly ball in the first inning, then gunned down Mark Teahen on a hard-hit ball up the middle in the sixth.

“I really liked the plays he made defensively,” Acta said. “He showed some athleticism going to his right against Teahen, and really got over there to make a play on that ball by Quentin.”

The 24-year-old Kipnis became the seventh Cleveland player to make his MLB debut this season, joining third baseman Chisenhall, outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, second baseman Cord Phelps, starting pitchers Alex White and Zach McAllister and relief pitcher Josh Judy.

Kipnis was called up during his worst stretch of the season, batting just .103 over his last 10 games for the Clippers.

“I was a little surprised because it’s not like I’m playing at the top of my game right now,” he admitted. “But it’s always exciting. I think everybody dreams of that moment.”

On the season, Kipnis was hitting .289 with 12 home runs, 55 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 91 games with Columbus. He participated in the MLB All-Star Weekend Futures Game in Phoenix and was named an International League All-Star.

More impressive, the
5-foot-11, 185-pounder earned those honors in his first season at the Triple-A level. He split last year between Single-A Kinston and Double-A Akron while making the transition from the outfield to second base.

“We project this kid to be an everyday player, just like with Chisenhall,” Acta said. “But the fact is none of us honestly know what these guys are going to do until they get here.

“May I point out that (the now-demoted Luis) Valbuena had the best numbers of those guys in Triple-A and last year?”

Kipnis, though, seems like a pretty solid bet to stay with the Indians for the rest of the season.

The Illinois native was recently named the best prospect in the organization by Baseball Prospectus. That award came one year after he was chosen as a Baseball America All-Star.

Kipnis said the success he has had as a pro made him ready for this opportunity, which comes with the Tribe in the thick of a pennant race.

“This situation actually puts less pressure on myself,” said Kipnis, who bats left and throws right. “I just want to come in and help the team keep doing what it’s doing, which is winning games.”

CLEVELAND — A pivotal homestand began on a sour note for the Indians on Friday night.

With their offense flailing once again, Cleveland dropped the first of nine consecutive games at Progressive Field, losing the series opener to the White Sox, 3-0.

It was the third straight loss for the Indians, who were hoping to pick up some steam at home after squandering first place in the Central Division during their recent road trip. They trail the Tigers by 1 1/2 games in the standings.

“There’s not much you can do when you don’t score any runs,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta, whose club was shut out for the 10th time this season, losing for the fifth time in six games against Chicago. “It is what it is. We’ve had to battle all year with our offense. We’re going to get shut out once in a while.”

Indians hitters, with that term used loosely, generated little off White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who entered the night at 7-9 with a 4.37 ERA.

Cleveland didn’t muster a hit over the first three innings, and just four in 7 2/3 innings off the unheralded right-hander, who struck out five.

“He was just two-seamer and cutter,” right fielder Austin Kearns said of Floyd, who allowed just one runner to advance to second base on Lonnie Chisenhall’s two-out double in the fifth. “His velocity wasn’t what it usually is. He was just getting guys off the barrel.

“It’s just one of those things. We just didn’t have that many opportunities.”

Chisenhall, one of only two baserunners to advance to third on the night, had two of Cleveland’s five hits.

With Floyd in the dugout, the Indians got leadoff hits in each of the final two innings but left them both stranded, Carlos Santana grounding out before Orlando Cabrera drove a ball to the wall with runners on second and third in the eighth.

Michael Brantley’s leadoff single in the ninth was followed by three straight outs — two of them on strikeouts (Asdrubal Cabrera and Matt LaPorta).

With no offensive support, Indians starter Carlos Carrasco was forced to go it alone. Though the right-hander offered up a positive outing, he wasn’t nearly enough, losing for the fourth straight time by allowing three runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings.

It appeared it would be a brief night for Carrasco, who walked the first two batters he faced and stranded seven Sox on base over first three innings.

“Carlos gave us a chance, despite having a lot of traffic out there early,” Acta said. “We just couldn’t get anything going against Floyd.”

Carrasco got himself in one jam he wasn’t able to get out of, with all three of his runs coming in the fifth.

He retired the first batter of the inning before allowing three straight hits, the final one a three-run home run from Carlos Quentin.

“You can’t get out of every jam,” Acta said. “Carlos got him.”

Jason Kipnis was promoted prior to the game, with one of Cleveland’s top prospects making his major league debut, starting at second base in place of veteran Orlando Cabrera.

Kipnis went 0-for-2, grounding to second in his first at-bat, flying to right with runners on first and third and two out in the fifth and getting hit by a pitch in the eighth.

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

CLEVELAND — Contending has come sooner than expected, which means the time is now for the Indians, with team president Mark Shapiro practically guaranteeing a trade from his club sometime before the July 31 deadline.

Despite being picked by few to finish higher than fourth in the Central Division, the low-budget Indians entered Friday trailing Detroit by a half-game in the standings and actively searching for offensive assistance.

“We, philosophically, clearly want to take advantage of this opportunity we have (to win the division),” Shapiro said in a radio interview with WTAM 1100-AM on Friday. “I don’t see a trade where financial obligations are going to be an obstacle.”

Money is often an object for the Indians, but according to general manager Chris Antonetti, ownership has signed off on exploring potential trade opportunities that will improve the club significantly.

Though the Indians could use a starting pitcher, their most glaring need is at the plate, where an inconsistent offense has been depleted by injuries to key projected contributors, Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore.

“If we had (Choo) and Grady both out there with these guys, we’d have a heck of a lineup,” Shapiro said. “Now, it’s up to us to fill in some gaps to allow us to be in position in September when they’ll be back.”

“It’s not a secret that we need a middle-of-the-order bat,” manager Manny Acta said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

The Indians’ biggest concern is that those types of players — i.e. Carlos Beltran — will likely come at an expense to their prospect list, a strong one that contains the likes of first-round draft picks Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and Lonnie Chisenhall, as well as second-rounder, Jason Kipnis, who was promoted from Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

In and out

Outfielder Michael Brantley (heat exhaustion) was back in the lineup after a two-game absence, while outfielder Travis Buck, who missed Wednesday’s game, was also available after being hit on the head by a pitch Tuesday.

Carlos Santana, who is hitless in his last eight at-bats, got the day off.

Comeback trail

White (right finger surgery) threw a bullpen session Friday at Progressive Field, his first since sustaining the injury. Depending on how he felt today, White was tentatively scheduled to pitch a simulated game Monday.

White, the Indians’ first-round draft choice (13th overall) in 2009, was injured three starts into his debut season — 1-0, 3.60 ERA — but the Indians are optimistic he will return this year.

Masterful Masterson

Justin Masterson is controlling what he can, posting a 3-2 record and 1.75 ERA over his last nine games (eight starts). The ERA is the third-lowest in the American League since June 8, with his season ERA of 2.64 ranking seventh in the AL.

Unfortunately, Masterson (8-6, 2.64) has gotten little run support, with the Indians scoring two runs or fewer in nine of his 20 starts. Cleveland has scored one run or been shut out in six of his outings.

Minor details

Columbus’ Jason Donald entered Friday batting .488 (21-for-43) two homers and eight RBIs over his last 12 games. Donald was hitting .336 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 38 games for the Clippers through Thursday. … Beau Mills, Cleveland’s first-round draft pick (13th overall) in 2007, was promoted to Columbus. He hit .300 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs in 61 games for Double-A Akron.

Roundin’ third

Travis Hafner played in the 1,00th game of his career Friday night, his 977th as an Indian. … Starting Friday, 44 of the Indians’ remaining 65 games (68 percent) are against division opponents — Chicago (13), Detroit (12) Kansas City (9) and Minnesota (10). … Recording artist Drake threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM. Huff (1-0, 0.00) vs. Jackson (6-7, 3.97).

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