Roberto

Hernandez

This has got to be it for Carmona in the closer’s role for now. Jason Davis and Rafael Betancourt should be the candidates to replace him. We’d take a chance on Davis first.

Carmona was brought in to end the eighth with a runner on first and two outs. He struck out Richie Sexson to end that inning, but two walks, two singles, and hit batter scored four runs in the top of the ninth. Carmona has done a fine job in relief for the Indians, so this outing shouldn’t affect his status as the club’s closer.

Working with a one-run lead, Carmona struck out the first two hitters he faced and got to two strikes on Doug Mirabelli before plunking the catcher. He hit Alex Gonzalez with his very next pitch and then walked Kevin Youkilis on six pitches. That brought up Mark Loretta, who produced a game-winning double and another slow walk off the mound for Carmona. After tonight’s performance, expect the Indians to give Carmona a chance to regroup in a setup role. Rafael Betancourt should be next in line for saves, but don’t forget about Jason Davis.

“He did a real good job against those first two hitters,” Wedge said. “Then he just looked like he got in a hurry to get the third out instead of trying not to do too much. ... It just kind of dominoed from there.” Carmona is going to be a great reliever, and the best thing for his future might be to move him into a less important role for now. Still, it’s not like the Indians are risking their season by continuing to let him pitch the ninth. Hopefully, he’ll figure out how to get that 27th out soon enough.

“I think with Fausto in general, what we’ll do is we’ll take a step back, let him catch his breath [and] use him more in a role that was somewhat typical to what he was doing before, but maybe even more so -- working that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-inning range -- and probably multiple innings, which will give him a chance to pitch a little bit more and work off what he’s learned that he needs to do to help him be better in the late innings,” Wedge said. A temporary replacement wasn’t named. Jason Davis and Rafael Betancourt are the candidates to close for now.

Fenway Park with the top of the order coming up; it just wasn’t the best situation for Carmona to get his first save opportunity. This is two bad outings in a row for the 22-year-old, but the Indians will stick with him for now. We’re still expecting good things.

Carmona reportedly told the team he was ready to pitch, which the local newspapers are taking as a sign of him being cut out for the job. Giving up a walk-off hit to David Ortiz isn’t exactly damning in terms of your long-term ability to close, so Carmona should be just fine.

Because Carmona has continued to struggle as a reliever, the Indians are going to try something different. The plan is for him to make two starts in Triple-A and then join the Cleveland rotation in place of Jeremy Sowers. Carmona has been a starter for most of his career, so it won’t be anything new for him.

“If we start winning baseball games like we hope to, Bob Wickman can’t pitch every night or six out of seven nights a week or whatever it may be,” Willis said. “That opportunity [for Carmona to close] is going to come, and we’ll see how he handles that role.” Carmona might handle the role full-time if Wickman is traded later this month. Even mixed leaguers should be thinking about picking him up at this point.

It seemed obvious that Carmona wasn’t ready to start in the majors after struggling in his second outing for Triple-A Buffalo, but the Indians stuck to their plan anyway. Since the club did rush him, it wouldn’t be fair at all if manager Eric Wedge replaced him now.