Indians can’t climb out of early hole in loss

Athletics 6, Indians 4

home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.

Cleveland inched closer in the eighth. Back-to-back walks opened the door for Ramirez, who with one out singled to right to score Jason Kipnis — who extended his on-base streak to 15 games — and pull the Indians to within a run at 4-3.

Chapman finally delivered the knockout blow in the ninth. Facing Tyler Clippard with a runner on, Chapman drilled a two-run home run that just cleared the 19-foot wall in left field. After coming close in the eighth to erasing the deficit, the Indians suddenly found themselves trailing 6-3, and they lacked the counterpunch in the bottom half of the inning.

Even though Lindor crushed his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field, it was too little, too late for the Indians.

[TONY DEJAK/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] Roberto Perez’s bat splinters on a batted ball in the fifth inning of the Indians’ game against the Athletics. Perez was out on the play, but later hit his sixth home run of the season.