jasons cab: Michael Brantley, bullpen lead Cleveland Indians to 3-1 victory over Reds

Frank Herrmann and the rest of the bullpen lead the Indians to a 3-1 victory over the Reds after Fausto Carmona leaves the game after two innings because of an injury.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The Indians' bullpen has been good since Opening Day. On a hot Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, which just so happened to be the official halfway point of the season, the relievers were the stars.

"Did you hear that, Sipp?" said Joe Smith, to fellow reliever Tony Sipp. "We're stars of the game."

The bullpen, following the early departure of starter Fausto Carmona because of injury, allowed one run over seven innings to secure a 3-1 victory over the Reds. Michael Brantley isn't a reliever, but he shared the pen's spotlight because without his three-run homer in the third, the game would have had a different outcome.

The Indians are 4-4 on this treacherous nine-game interleague trip. It began with a three-game sweep by the Giants, but the Indians took two out of three from Arizona and have won the first two games of this three-game set against the Reds. Somehow, someway, they are still in first place in the AL Central after going 10-17 in June.

"It can't get any worse for us than it was in June," said manager Manny Acta, whose team is 2-0 in July. "We're moving forward."

Carmona left in the third after taking a nasty spill on his way to first base following a sacrifice bunt attempt. Not only did he strain his right quadriceps muscle, which will probably put him on the disabled list, but after the game he looked like a guy who'd dumped his Harley-Davidson and was being treated for a bad case of road rash.

He had bandages on his right quad and left arm. The index and middle finger of his right hand were taped together. The webbing between the two fingers was split in the second inning when he knocked down Homer Bailey's come-backer for the third out.

"I'll let you know how I'm feeling tomorrow," said Carmona.

Said Acta: "He's going to be re-evaluated [today]. . . . He actually got a double whammy. Before he went to the plate, the ball hit by Bailey split his fingers. We didn't know if he was going to continue to pitch, but he said he was OK."

Lou Marson started the third with a single. Carmona tried to bunt him to second. Third baseman Scott Rolen grabbed the ball and threw to Paul Janish at second in an attempt to force Marson, but Janish was off the bag. Marson was safe, as was Carmona, as he started stumbling a few feet before first and tumbled over it.

Josh Tomlin pinch-ran for Carmona. Before head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff could slap a Band-Aid on Carmona, Brantley hit a 2-0 pitch from Bailey into the Indians' bullpen in the right-field corner.

At the start of the at-bat, Brantley got the sign to bunt with two on and no one out. When the count went to 2-0, Acta let him swing away. It was the Tribe's fourth homer of the series and Brantley's first since June 6.

The bullpen, operating without closer Chris Perez, who was attending his grandmother's funeral in Florida, started its run with three scoreless inning from Frank Herrmann. He'd gone 10 days without pitching, but retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.

"Frank Herrmann saved the day for us," said Acta.

Said Herrmann (1-0): "I was definitely fresh. It's fun being on a good team, but it's even more fun to contribute. I've never gone 10 days without pitching.

"You can go two ways with it. You can go, 'Oh, woe is me. The manager doesn't have faith in me.' Or you can wait until you get an opportunity, take the ball and force the issue."

Rafael Perez and Smith followed with a scoreless inning each. Smith, pitching in front of his hometown crowd, struck out Brandon Phillips to end the seventh.

Sipp got the ball to start the eighth, but Joey Votto hit a leadoff homer to make it 3-1. Rolen followed with a long double to left. When Jonny Gomes walked with one out, Acta called for Chad Durbin. Unlike Herrmann, Durbin had one appearance since June 20. It came Friday night.

Durbin retired Ryan Hanigan on a fly ball to center and struck out pinch-hitter Chris Heisey to end the inning.

"Durbs has been huge for us all year with inherited runners," said Smith, who has not allowed an earned run in his last 19 appearances.

Vinnie Pestano pitched the ninth for his first save of the season. It was not a relaxing inning on the shores of the Ohio River. Pestano ended it by striking out Rolen with runners on the corners.

"When Chris comes back, he can have this job," said Pestano.

Chris Perez is scheduled to return today.

"That makes us even better," said Smith.

To reach this Plain Dealer Reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158.

Twitter: @hoynsie

Cinesport video: Indians 3, Reds 1