Josh Bard belts a grand slam as Seattle Mariners crush Cleveland Indians, 9-3

Written by: admin on 15th August 2010

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It was a bad night at Progressive Field for the Indians, Mitch Talbot, Andy Marte and Hector Ambriz.

UPDATED: 11:29 p.m.

Chuck Crow / The Plain DealerFormer Indians catcher Josh Bard gets congratulations from Seattle’s Casey Kotchman, Franklin Gutierrez and Jose Lopez after Bard’s fifth-inning grand slam gave the Mariners a 7-2 lead Saturday night at Progressive Field.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — This is a season for missing things. Such as a healthy Grady Sizemore and the old Travis Hafner. Don’t forget the two departed Cy Young winners. Take your pick between CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Throw in 15-game winner Carl Pavano if you feel like it.

Yet out of all the things the Indians have lost from seasons past, who would have thought that one of the biggest voids would be created by the departure of Jhonny Peralta’s glove at third base?

Peralta made five errors in 91 games at third before being traded to Detroit on July 28. Since then the hot corner has turned into a block of Swiss cheese. In Saturday night’s 9-3 thumping by Seattle, Andy Marte made two errors in succession to set in motion Josh Bard’s game-breaking fifth-inning grand slam.

It was not a good night for Marte, one of three players trying to replace Peralta. In the fourth inning, he pulled the Indians into a 2-2 tie with a bloop single off lefty Jason Vargas (9-5, 3.15). It was the only pressure the Indians applied to Vargas, and it did not last long.

A couple of seconds after Marte reached first base, Bard picked him off with an alert throw from behind the plate to end the inning.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been picked off that way in my career,” said Marte.

It lit the fuse to a sequence of plays that Marte will do well to forget, but he did not act alone.

Mitch Talbot (8-10, 4.25), in his first start since coming off the disabled list, opened the fifth by serving Russell Branyan with a first-pitch meatball over the heart of the plate. Branyan drilled his 15th homer over the wall in left field for a 3-2 lead that would expand to 7-2 before the inning ended.

Gallery preview “I missed a lot of spots over the plate and that was the worst one,” said Talbot. “That was middle-middle and he did what he’s supposed to do with a pitch like that.”

Jose Lopez followed with a single. Then came Marte’s trial by leather. Franklin Gutierrez sent a bouncer to third that skidded away from him at the last second for the first error. Casey Kotchman followed with a slow bouncer to third. Marte charged and grabbed the ball, but dropped it while transferring it from his glove to his right hand.

The bases were loaded with none out. Hector Ambriz relieved. Bard sent his second pitch sailing into the right-field seats for his first career slam. In his first three at-bats, Bard singled, doubled and homered. He had two more at-bats to hit a triple and complete the cycle, but settled for a single to give him four hits.

“Guys were telling me to get a triple the last time up,” said Bard. “If I went for triple there, they’d probably have to put me on the disabled list.”

Marte has made 10 errors this year. Saturday was not his first disaster at third this season. He made three errors in the first inning on June 10 against Boston while playing third.

Look at it this way, in going from three errors to two errors in one inning, he’s making progress.

“I don’t know why the first one was called an error,” said Marte. “It thought it was a tough ground ball. … I want to make every play out there. I want to catch every ground ball I see. That’s what I’m trying to do out there.”

There have been games where Marte has looked like a Gold Glover at third. Then there have been games like Saturday’s.

“He’s been inconsistent over there,” said manager Manny Acta. “Not one of those guys have stepped up and taken that job. It’s plain and simple.”

Jayson Nix and Luis Valbuena are the other two third base candidates.

Talbot allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits in four innings. Ambriz allowed three runs on five hits in two innings. Two of the hits were homers — Bard’s slam and Kotchman’s two-run homer in the sixth.

It was a good night for former Indians. Branyan homered. Bard went 4-for-5. Gutierrez singled, scored twice and stole a base. Jamey Wright pitched a scoreless ninth.

The Indians have lost five of the last six games.

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