Tribe extends Orioles’ road losing streak

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians didn’t let a rough day get any worse by losing to the woeful Orioles.

José Ramírez picked up a pair of RBIS — made possible by Baltimore blunders in the field — and Cleveland shook off losing ace Shane Bieber for at least a few weeks by extending the Orioles’ road losing streak to 16 straight games with a 4-3 win Monday night.

The Indians’ victory was tempered by the Bieber going on the injured list for an unknown period due to a shoulder strain. The reigning AL Cy Young winner won’t be allowed to pick up a baseball for two weeks.

“It’s kind of a kick in the stomach when you hear that about Bieber,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “And we’re asking a lot of young guys to do things that maybe they haven’t done before: pitching on short rest, starting a game but not being terribly stretched out.

“But at least if we pull in the right direction all together, I always feel like we’ll figure it out.”

Ramírez drove in a run off Dean Kremer (0-6) in the first inning when Baltimore left fielder DJ Stewart slipped in the wet grass going after a routine fly. Ramirez added an RBI double in the sixth when Orioles second baseman Stevie Wilkerson dropped his foul pop, giving him another try.

Baltimore made two errors in the sixth.

“The bottom line is we just didn’t play defense tonight,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who was ejected in the first inning.

“You got to have to play defense in the big leagues to win and we made numerous plays that hurt us.”

Indians rookie reliever Nick Sandlin (1-0) picked up his first career win by striking out three of the five batters he faced.

James Karinchak worked out of a jam in the seventh and followed a leadoff walk by striking out the side in the eighth. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.

Bieber’s absence will force Francona to be creative with his pitching staff, especially his solid bullpen.

“We’re going to have to play it by ear every night,” he said. “If a guy’s rolling and we stay with him, that’s OK, too. We’ll have to know that he’s not going to be available for a while. It’s going to be a lot of communication. We’re going to need a lot of honesty from them and see if we can make it work.”

The start was pushed back one hour by rain, but the Orioles couldn’t delay extending their team record road losing slide. Baltimore hasn’t won away from home since John Means pitched a no-hitter at Seattle on May 5.

As bad as it is, Baltimore’s streak isn’t even the longest in the majors this season. Texas also lost 16 in a row from May 10 to June 11, and Arizona has currently lost 20 straight on the road.

The 1963 New York Mets hold the record with 22 straight road losses.

Hyde made it through the rain delay, but not the first inning as he got ejected for arguing.