CLEVELAND — Indians pitcher Masa Kobayashi set the table and right fielder Ben Francisco knocked all the plates off it.
Kobayashi’s two-out walk to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the 10th inning turned into the decisive run Sunday when Francisco committed a cringe-worthy error on the next play, giving the Texas Rangers a 2-1 win over the Tribe.
The extra-inning defeat was Cleveland’s eighth in its last nine games, but represented a new low because of the way it played out.
Francisco let a sharply hit single by Ramon Vazquez hop through his legs — after bouncing twice in front of him — and roll to the wall, bringing Saltalamacchia around from first base with the game-winning run.
“It isn’t a good feeling at all,” Francisco said after sitting in front of his locker with his head in his hands for an extended period. “We should never lose a game that way. I just got in between hops.
“The ball should never get through your legs.”
The game also should have never come down to Francisco’s misplay. Nor should it have hinged on Kobayashi’s 10-pitch walk to Saltalamacchia that Rangers manager Ron Washington called “a great at-bat. He kept fighting, then we got a break.”But the Indians have no one to blame but themselves. They left 11 runners on base, hit into three 4-6-3 double plays (two by David Dellucci) and failed in their final 10 chances with runners in scoring position.
After Victor Martinez singled home Francisco with one out in the first inning, the Tribe’s bats failed time and time again on the picture-perfect afternoon.
“Today was definitely about the hitting. We missed way too many opportunities,” said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge, whose club had nine hits off four Rangers pitchers. “They’ve got to get it done. No doubt about it. I’m tired of talking about it.”
Jamey Wright (3-1) earned the win with two innings of scoreless relief and C.J. Wilson notched his 10th save. Starter Doug Mathis, who entered the game with a 10.13 ERA, allowed one run and seven hits in six innings to keep the Indians in check.
Tribe counterpart C.C. Sabathia was even better, throwing seven innings of five-hit ball with five strikeouts. His only mistake came in the sixth when Ian Kinsler hit a solo shot onto the home run porch in left field.
Rafael Betancourt followed with a perfect inning of relief, while Kobayashi (2-2) took the loss even though he didn’t allow an earned run.
“C.C. was great again and the bullpen did a good job,” Wedge said. “I felt like early on we had our chances against (Mathis), but as the game went on, he got a little bit better and we got a little bit worse.”
The Indians had a pair of golden opportunities to take command, but both died in the mitt of David Murphy. The initial chance saw Travis Hafner fly out to left with the bases loaded and two outs in the second.
Murphy’s second key catch came in the seventh after he was shifted across the outfield. With Hafner and Grady Sizemore both aboard, he made a running, over-the-shoulder grab of a Martinez smash to the warning track in right.
“I hit that one pretty decently,” said Martinez, who doesn’t have a home run this season. “I thought I had a chance. He made a good catch.”
In many ways, the game played out like many of the Tribe’s previous 49. It was frustrating, unfulfilling and left a bad taste in the mouths of all 35,464 fans at Progressive Field, as well as everyone on Cleveland’s roster.
Turning things around — starting with the Indians’ 23-27 record — won’t be easy, but no one wearing the Wahoo is ready to throw in the towel.
“Nobody can give us a magic potion,” said Hafner, who was booed loudly after striking out in the 10th. “If you get down, this game will kick you in the (butt). You just have to get it done. This is the big leagues.
“We still have the best job in the world. Everyone loves playing baseball, and it’s great. Sometimes you’ve got to make your own breaks.”
Contact Brian Dulik at (330) 721-4059 or brisports@hotmail.com.

TONIGHT

WHO: Cleveland vs. Chicago
TIME: 7:05
WHERE: Progressive Field
PITCHERS: Byrd (2-4, 4.10 ERA) vs. Vazquez (5-3, 3.43)
TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

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