BALTIMORE: There was something fundamentally wrong with the Cleveland Indians’ performance in a 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
A botched throw by catcher Roberto Perez enabled Pedro Alvarez to reach after a ninth-inning strikeout, and Nolan Reimold followed with a two-out homer to give the Orioles a three-game sweep of the AL Central leaders.
Cleveland reliever Cody Allen (2-4) began the ninth by striking out Alvarez, but the ball eluded Perez. After fielding the bouncing ball off the backstop, Perez hit Alvarez in the helmet with the throw for an error.
The Indians’ catchers often practice the throw to first after a dropped third strike, but Perez still evidently has some work to do.