CLEVELAND, Ohio — Travis Hafner was not at his locker before Wednesday night’s game against Oakland at Progressive Field. In his place, was a large gray and white plastic walking boot.

If you’re into signs, this doesn’t seem like a good one regarding the chances of Pronk returning to the lineup sometime in the season’s final month. Hafner was placed on the disabled list after injuring his right foot trying to leg out a double against Detroit on Aug. 21. There was talk the foot, which has hampered Hafner since late April, would need surgery.

So much for signs and talk.

Hafner and head trainer Lonnie Soloff returned Wednesday from visiting an out-of-state doctor who treats NFL players. The news was good.

“We got some encouraging news,” said manager Manny Acta. “It looks like he’ll be able to join our club and play again this year. There’s no timetable, but that’s encouraging news.”

The Indians acquired Jim Thome in a waiver deal with the Twins on Thursday. He has taken over Hafner’s DH spot. Depending on when Hafner returns, Acta would seem to have a juggling act on his hands.

But he doesn’t see it that way.

“Returning from this kind of injury, Hafner is not going to be able to play every day,” said Acta. “It’s the same situation with Jim. They’ll share [the DH].

“It’s an advantage in September [with expanded rosters]. I’ll be able to pinch run for one of them in the seventh and then I’ll have whoever didn’t play bat in the ninth. You can only do that in September.”

Surgery: Outfielder Michael Brantley underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove his hamate bone from his right hand. Dr. Thomas Graham did the operation at Cleveland Clinic.

Brantley will miss the rest of the season, but should be fine for spring training.

As the Crowe flies: Outfielder Trevor Crowe was promoted to Class AAA Columbus as he rehabs from right shoulder surgery. Crowe has missed the entire season, but it’s possible he could be a September call-up.

Reinforcements: Teams can expand their rosters to 40 players starting Thursday. Don’t look for the Indians to make that kind of cattle call, but they could add a reliever or two in the next several days.

Josh Judy and Nick Hagadone are candidates. Judy was optioned to Columbus on Aug. 23 to make room for Shelley Duncan. Hagadone was optioned on Sunday to make room for Jerad Head. Judy and Hagadone must stay in Columbus at least 10 days before being recalled.

Relievers Zach Putnam and Chen Lee are also possibilities. Most of the position players considered prospects are already with the Indians or on the disabled list.

“I’m not so sure if we’ll call anybody up for Thursday,” said Acta. “It depends how [Wednesday's] game goes. It depends how our bullpen shapes up. We could bring a reliever up.

“There are some arms that are coming up, but there’s no rule that says a guy has to be up here Sept. 1.”

With the Indians scheduled to play two doubleheaders in September, Mitch Talbot might even get a call. But he would have to be put on the 40-man roster.

New role: Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall is used to playing every day, but he’s found himself in a new role as the Indians try to run down Detroit and Chicago in the AL Central.

Jack Hannahan has reclaimed the third-base job, entering Wednesday’s game hitting .419 (18-for-43) with 10 RBI in August. In his first at-bat, he hit a 432-foot homer to center field.

“They haven’t really spoke to me about what’s going on,” said Chisenhall. “All I know is Jack is raking. He’s raking, he’s in the lineup and he’s playing well.”

Chisenhall has been working on his swing in the batting cage during games. He’s also been used several times as a pinch-hitter.

“I’m trying to learn all I can from this,” he said.

Finally: The Indians will send pitching prospects Austin Adams, T.J. McFarland, Matt Packer and Tyler Sturdevant to the Arizona Fall League in October. They’ll play for the Phoenix Devil Dogs. Mickey Callaway, Class A Kinston’s pitching coach, will be Phoenix’s pitching coach.

On Twitter: @hoynsie

CLEVELAND –

Manager Manny Acta said the Cleveland Indians’ demotion of first baseman Matt LaPorta to the minors Tuesday is a case of roster numbers.

LaPorta’s mediocre production numbers didn’t help.

Batting .238 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 97 games, LaPorta was optioned to Triple-A Columbus when the Indians recalled right-hander Jeanmar Gomez to start the second game of a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics.

“With all of the injuries, first base is the only place where we have some depth,” Acta said. “We have (catcher) Carlos Santana, (outfielder) Shelley Duncan and (third baseman) Jack Hannahan who can play first.”

Cleveland has six players on the disabled list and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is with the team, but unavailable because of a sore left side. Outfielder Grady Sizemore, out since July 18 with a sore knee and recovering from abdominal surgery, will start a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Akron.

“We’re in a very tough spot here,” Acta said as the short-handed Indians try to gain ground in the AL Central race.

Despite all the injuries, Cleveland began play 5½ games behind first-place Detroit.

The Indians have done it without the power production anticipated from LaPorta. He was the key part of the blockbuster trade that sent Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers in July 2008, but has yet to live up to lofty expectations.

“He has made progress, but expectations for a guy like him are high,” Acta said. “That’ not because of the trade, but because of being a high draft pick (No. 7 overall by Milwaukee in 2007) and the way he cruised through the minors.”

LaPorta hit .299 with 17 homers in 93 games at Columbus in 2009 to earn a call to Cleveland, but he batted only .254 with seven homers in 52 games. He opened 2010 at Triple-A and batted .362 with five homers in 18 games, but in 110 games for the Indians, hit only .221 with 12 homers.

“He’s had a lot of inconsistency, but shows flashes of what we anticipated,” Acta said. “He needs work on plate discipline. He’s projected as a walks, power guy and it is still not there.

“He will get regular at-bats for 10 days.”

LaPorta could stay with the Clippers as they participate in the Triple-A playoffs, then rejoin the Indians.

Others acquired by Cleveland for Sabathia were outfielder Michael Brantley, currently on the 60-day disabled list with a wrist injury, left-hander Zach Jackson and minor-league right-hander Rob Bryson.

Gomez is 0-2 with a 5.70 ERA in five games over two stints earlier this year with Cleveland.

 

“The young man gave us a lift,” Indians manager Manny Acta said of Gomez (2-2), who was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to start in place of the injured Josh Tomlin.

Cleveland continues trying to overcome injuries and gain ground in the division, winning four of five. The Indians are 5½ behind first-place Detroit, which beat Kansas City 2-1 in 10 innings.

“I feel like we’ve got a couple of streaks (left) in us,” Acta said. “There’s a month to go. The pitching is there. You get good pitching, you’re in every game.”

For a change, the Indians added some offense to win by their largest margin since beating the Tigers 10-3 on Aug. 10. Their previous three wins were by one run.

Hannahan had three hits and is 18 for 42 (.429) with 10 RBIs in his last 13 games. The third baseman, signed to a non-roster contract in the winter, is enjoying the pressure of playing for a playoff berth.

“It’s a different atmosphere,” Hannahan said. “It’s someone different every day, getting big hits, pitching well. The young guys are coming up and getting it done.”

Santana connected for his 21st homer with one out in the sixth inning off Trevor Cahill (9-13) for a 4-1 lead.

“I think the homer shocked him a little bit,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of the right-hander. “His stuff was good again. He’ll go through periods where he’s painting on all his pitches and everything’s sharp, and then he’ll have gaps where he gets out of whack a little bit.”

Cahill is 1-6 in nine starts since the All-Star break. He opened the season 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA through May 14, but is 3-13 since. He said the location on the pitch to Santana was not close to where he wanted it.

“I was trying to throw it low,” Cahill said. “Hopefully he would chase it and hit it into the ground for a double play, but I left it up and he yanked it over the wall.

“Even in innings I didn’t give up runs, I was fighting myself. When you’re doing that the whole game, it’s tough to get big league hitters out.”

After Cahill hit Shelley Duncan with a pitch, Fautino De Los Santos came on and yielded Hannahan’s sixth homer to make it 6-1.

Oakland has lost four straight and five of six. In five games against Cleveland this year, the A’s have totaled 10 runs. “We’ve basically done nothing,” Melvin said. “We’ll search for those answers, but I don’t have one right now.”

Kosuke Fukudome’s two-run double put Cleveland up 2-0 in the third.

Lou Marson and Ezequiel Carrera reached on infield singles. Fukudome, hitting .379 (11 of 29) with five RBIs over his last eight games, then doubled to the wall in right-center, scoring both runners.

Oakland pulled to 2-1 in the fifth, helped by an error by Gomez covering first base. That sent Jemile Weeks to second, where he scored on Coco Crisp’s two-out single to right.

Indians designated hitter Jim Thome went 1 for 2 with two walks. That extended the 41-year-old Thome’s team record to 1,000 walks. He has 1,717 for his career, eighth all-time and 16 behind Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle.

Notes: Cleveland optioned 1B Matt LaPorta to Triple-A Columbus. … Indians OF Grady Sizemore, out since July 18 with a sore knee and recovering from abdominal surgery, will start a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Akron. … Oakland called up hard-throwing RHP Neil Wagner from Triple-A Sacramento. Cleveland’s 21st-round pick in 2005 and sold to Oakland a year ago, Wagner had 87 strikeouts in 66 1-3 innings in the minors this year and fanned the first batter he faced, Santana, in the eighth. … A’s RHP Michael Wuertz (thumb) is scheduled for a rehab outing Wednesday and could rejoin Oakland this weekend. He’s been out since July 30. … RHP Rich Harden (4-2) will face Indians RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2) on Wednesday. Harden’s 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings are sixth-best among AL pitchers with at least 50 innings. Jimenez is 2-0 at home since being acquired by Cleveland from Colorado for four prospects at the trade deadline July 31. … A’s manager Bob Melvin said OF Ryan Sweeney, batting .200 (9 for 45) in August, may play the last two games of the series. … Weeks is 12 for 29 (.414) in a seven-game hitting streak. … A’s OF Brandon Allen went 0 for 4 and is in an 0 for 14 slump.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND (AP) — It was young Jeanmar Gomez’s turn to join the Cleveland Indians’ hero of the night club.

The right-hander allowed one unearned run over six innings and was backed by two-run homers from Carlos Santana and Jack Hannahan as the scrappy Indians kept pace in the AL Central race by beating the Oakland Athletics 6-2 Tuesday night.

“The young man gave us a lift,” Indians manager Manny Acta said of Gomez (2-2), who was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to start in place of the injured Josh Tomlin.

Cleveland continues trying to overcome injuries and gain ground in the division, winning four of five. The Indians are 5½ behind first-place Detroit, which beat Kansas City 2-1 in 10 innings.

“I feel like we’ve got a couple of streaks (left) in us,” Acta said. “There’s a month to go. The pitching is there. You get good pitching, you’re in every game.”

For a change, the Indians added some offense to win by their largest margin since beating the Tigers 10-3 on Aug. 10. Their previous three wins were by one run.

Hannahan had three hits and is 18 for 42 (.429) with 10 RBIs in his last 13 games. The third baseman, signed to a non-roster contract in the winter, is enjoying the pressure of playing for a playoff berth.

“It’s a different atmosphere,” Hannahan said. “It’s someone different every day, getting big hits, pitching well. The young guys are coming up and getting it done.”

Santana connected for his 21st homer with one out in the sixth inning off Trevor Cahill (9-13) for a 4-1 lead.

“I think the homer shocked him a little bit,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of the right-hander. “His stuff was good again. He’ll go through periods where he’s painting on all his pitches and everything’s sharp, and then he’ll have gaps where he gets out of whack a little bit.”

Cahill is 1-6 in nine starts since the All-Star break. He opened the season 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA through May 14, but is 3-13 since. He said the location on the pitch to Santana was not close to where he wanted it.

“I was trying to throw it low,” Cahill said. “Hopefully he would chase it and hit it into the ground for a double play, but I left it up and he yanked it over the wall.

“Even in innings I didn’t give up runs, I was fighting myself. When you’re doing that the whole game, it’s tough to get big league hitters out.”

After Cahill hit Shelley Duncan with a pitch, Fautino De Los Santos came on and yielded Hannahan’s sixth homer to make it 6-1.

Oakland has lost four straight and five of six. In five games against Cleveland this year, the A’s have totaled 10 runs. “We’ve basically done nothing,” Melvin said. “We’ll search for those answers, but I don’t have one right now.”

Kosuke Fukudome’s two-run double put Cleveland up 2-0 in the third.

Lou Marson and Ezequiel Carrera reached on infield singles. Fukudome, hitting .379 (11 of 29) with five RBIs over his last eight games, then doubled to the wall in right-center, scoring both runners.

Oakland pulled to 2-1 in the fifth, helped by an error by Gomez covering first base. That sent Jemile Weeks to second, where he scored on Coco Crisp’s two-out single to right.

Indians designated hitter Jim Thome went 1 for 2 with two walks. That extended the 41-year-old Thome’s team record to 1,000 walks. He has 1,717 for his career, eighth all-time and 16 behind Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle.

Notes: Cleveland optioned 1B Matt LaPorta to Triple-A Columbus. … Indians OF Grady Sizemore, out since July 18 with a sore knee and recovering from abdominal surgery, will start a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Akron. … Oakland called up hard-throwing RHP Neil Wagner from Triple-A Sacramento. Cleveland’s 21st-round pick in 2005 and sold to Oakland a year ago, Wagner had 87 strikeouts in 66 1-3 innings in the minors this year and fanned the first batter he faced, Santana, in the eighth. … A’s RHP Michael Wuertz (thumb) is scheduled for a rehab outing Wednesday and could rejoin Oakland this weekend. He’s been out since July 30. … RHP Rich Harden (4-2) will face Indians RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2) on Wednesday. Harden’s 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings are sixth-best among AL pitchers with at least 50 innings. Jimenez is 2-0 at home since being acquired by Cleveland from Colorado for four prospects at the trade deadline July 31. … A’s manager Bob Melvin said OF Ryan Sweeney, batting .200 (9 for 45) in August, may play the last two games of the series. … Weeks is 12 for 29 (.414) in a seven-game hitting streak. … A’s OF Brandon Allen went 0 for 4 and is in an 0 for 14 slump.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — What was that rare occurrence which alighted upon the Indians’ shoulders Tuesday night?

It had nothing to do with another injury — those have been anything but rare this year. Nor was it another game decided by the thinnest of margins. Like injuries, one-run ballgames have been commonplace.

No, this was about a big inning, home runs and a 6-2 victory over Oakland at Progressive Field. It’s called offense, built with extra-base hits, speed and power. Those are the elements that the Indians have missed since sometime in mid-May.

For one night, with the season at the entrance of its final month, the Indians found it.

Most of the power guys are gone — Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore and Jason Kipnis are on the disabled list and Matt LaPorta was demoted to Class AAA Columbus before the first pitch. That did not stop Carlos Santana and Jack Hannahan from homering in a four-run sixth inning. The homer was no big deal for Santana, who is at 21 and counting. It was reason for celebration for Hannahan, who hadn’t found the seats since June 8.

The four-run inning was the Indians’ biggest since they scored five in the fourth on Aug. 21 against Detroit. It was the first time they’ve hit two homers in an inning since Aug. 1 against Boston.

Will it last, who knows? But for one game it had to be nice to play and not suffer. The Indians have played 47 one-run games, third most in the AL. That’s a lot of games with the outcome hanging by one pitch, one swing or one catch. Tuesday night, manager Manny Acta could at least keep most of his bullpen arms at rest.

Jeanmar Gomez, activated before the game, gave the Indians six good innings for his first big-league win since last September. He allowed one unearned run on six hits. Gomez (1-2, 4.55) and David Huff, who spent the most of this season at Class AAA Columbus, have started and won the first two games of this series, allowing one unearned run in 12 innings.

It was Gomez’s second start against the A’s this year. He held them to one earned run in 11 1/3 innings.

“No pressure,” said Gomez, of the Indians’ chase of Detroit and Chicago in the AL Central. “I relaxed and pitched like I did at Triple-A. I know this team is in the race. We just clinched at Columbus. That helped me for this game.”

The Indians are 5-4 on this homestand, which began with losing three out of four to a last-place Seattle club. The Indians still trail first-place Detroit by 5 1/2 games with 30 to play.

While Gomez’s time at Columbus prepared him for the stretch run in Cleveland, Kosuke Fukudome’s 87 games with the Cubs did little but hurt his batting average. Since the Indians acquired him on July 27, he has been a different ballplayer.

He gave the Indians a 2-0 lead with a third-inning double off Trevor Cahill (9-13, 4.26). Lou Marson and Ezequiel Carrera set the table with infield hits. Fukudome is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with five doubles and five RBI in his last eight games. He’s hitting .283 (34-for-120) with 10 doubles, one homer and 12 RBI overall since the deal.

“The one definite difference is I’m getting a chance to play,” said Fukudome, through interpreter Hiro Aoyama. “The race here has definitely given me motivation to keep going.”

The Indians do not live by the big inning. They live by quality starts, good relief work and a run here and there. That’s what made the sixth inning unique.

Jim Thome drew a one-out walk off Cahill, 1-8 since June 30. It was the 1,000th walk of Thome’s career with the Indians, a franchise record. Santana cashed it in with a two-run homer to right. When Cahill hit Shelley Duncan with a pitch, he was done for the night.

Fautino De Los Santos relieved and Hannahan greeted him with a line drive that just made it over the right-field wall for a 6-1 lead. Hannahan went 3-for-4 and is hitting .429 (13-for-42) over his last 14 games.

“Jack has given us some balance in the bottom of the order,” said manager Manny Acta. “It’s the same thing Fukudome gave us [before he moved up in the order].”

On Twitter: @hoynsie

For more Cinesport video, go here.