In a span of six pitches, sinkerballer Justin Masterson spiraled from dominance to disaster.
After overpowering the Orioles for six innings on Tuesday night, Masterson fell apart in a decisive seventh and sent Cleveland on its way to a 6-3 loss at Camden Yards. Masterson will have to wait another five days to try for his 10th win of the season, though the Indians can take some comfort in knowing this was only their fourth loss in their last 13 games.
“There in the seventh, it was just a lack of execution on my part,” Masterson said. “The guys battled hard, fought hard, scored three runs early. Unfortunately, I gave it back.”
The game began to swing Baltimore’s way with the first pitch of the seventh.
With the Indians (39-37) holding a two-run lead, Masterson hit center fielder Adam Jones in the back with an errant slider. Slugger Chris Davis had been quiet in the early portion of this series, but he finally made some noise with Jones on first base, crushing the first pitch he saw from Masterson for a two-run homer that knotted the score at 3.
The blast was Davis’ 28th of the season.
“I got myself in trouble hitting Jones,” Masterson said. “And then Chris Davis does what he’s been doing — he hits a homer. It’s a good lineup. We had been working well through six innings, and unfortunately, we got to the seventh.”
Masterson’s next four pitches sailed wide of the strike zone, leading to a walk to Matt Wieters and prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mickey Callaway. The brief chat had a brief effect. Two batters later, Chris Dickerson collected an unlikely infield single with a check swing that chopped a pitch down the third-base line.
“That was a really good pitch,” manager Terry Francona said. “The guy hits the ball 60 feet, and there’s nothing we can do with it.”
Second baseman Alexi Casilla then settled into the batter’s box with a .205 batting average and no home runs on the season. After a wild pitch allowed both baserunners to move up 90 feet, Cleveland’s infield moved in a few steps. Masterson needed a pitch low in the zone to induce a groundout, but he missed his target and left a slider out over the plate.
Casilla’s season statistics were rendered irrelevant when he yanked the 1-1 offering into the stands in right-center field for a three-run homer, pushing the Indians behind, 6-3. That sent Masterson (9-6) to the showers on the heels of a disappointing outing, one that started well but unraveled fast.
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