CLEVELAND – If it isn`t one thing, it`s another for the sad-sack Indians these days.
When they get pitching, they don`t hit. When they hit, they don`t pitch. Rarely do they do both at the same time, which is as good a reason as any for Cleveland`s current last-place status in the talent-challenged Central Division.
Offense was the culprit Saturday night, with the Indians falling prey to another Detroit pitcher in a 4-0 loss that secured the series for Detroit.
It was the second straight night Cleveland was shut out – the first time that`s happened since 2004 against the Chicago White Sox – after Tigers ace Justin Verlander tossed a complete-game, allowing just two hits in the series opener Friday night.
“It`s one area of the club or another area of the club,” said a terse Cleveland manager Eric Wedge. “We`re seeing different areas of our club struggle on different days. What we`ve got to do is put everything together. We`ve got to button down in every area of our club.
“These guys are big leaguers and most of them have had a lot of success and they need to draw from that.”
The Indians lost for the sixth time in eight games after entering the night trailing the first-place Royals by seven games in the division standings, and it led to a lengthy players meeting that lasted more than 30 minutes, while reporters were barred from entering the clubhouse.
“I don`t think it`s anything I need to tell (the media),” said veteran closer Kerry Wood, when asked who called the meeting. “If we wanted (the media) to know, we would have invited you in.”
“I don`t think it`s because we`re playing well,” said Wood, when asked why the meeting was called.
The Indians struggled to solve right-hander Edwin Jackson, who didn`t allow a run through seven innings on just five hits and struck out seven. He surrendered just three hits over the first five innings, striking out four of the first 11 batters he faced.
Jackson`s effort trumped a positive one from Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona, who allowed a pair of runs on just four hits over 6 2/3 innings. It was one of Carmona`s better outings this season, but ongoing control problems tarnished his line.
Carmona walked six batters, two of them coming back to bite him when they scored the first two runs off him in the seventh. In seven starts covering 42 innings, Carmona (1-4, 5.57) has walked 23 batters.
“He`s got to throw the ball over the plate,” Wedge said.
With the game still well within reach, Cleveland`s offensive futility reached its pinnacle when Shin-Soo Choo walked and Mark DeRosa followed with a single to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
David Dellucci was up with a chance to move the runners over, but failed on two bunt attempts before lining out to third baseman Brandon Inge, who threw to second to double up Choo. Dellucci`s failed bunt attempt loomed large for a team scratching to score runs.
“We`ve got to execute, that as well as so many other things were big,” Wedge said.
More shoddy relief work from the beleaguered Cleveland bullpen provided the Tigers with two insurance runs in the eighth inning.
Rafael Betancourt came on for Carmona to strike out Placido Polanco for the final out in the seventh but allowed consecutive run-scoring hits to Jeff Larish (triple) and Inge (double) with two outs in the eighth.
It completed another hit-and-miss night for the Indians, who have experienced too many of them this early in the season.
“You can`t let it get to the point where it starts to snowball,” Wedge said. “You can`t keep playing the game with that type of inconsistency.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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