CLEVELAND -- This is a little different than Adam Plutko's UCLA days, when he was asked to lead the rotation after Trevor Bauer left for the professional ranks. The Indians are not asking Plutko to be an ace -- just to help hold down the back-end of the starting staff.
In a 4-2 loss to the Orioles on Saturday, Plutko came up from Triple-A Columbus and provided the American League Central-leading Indians with a solid seven-inning performance. In his first outing since Bauer landed on the disabled list, Plutko was done in by a lack of run support and one rough three-batter stretch.
"I just want to help the team win and give us innings," Plutko said. "Whatever I can do to help and win ballgames, that's what I'm here to do. That's pretty much my outlook on it."
The loss was only the third in the past 13 games for Cleveland (70-52), which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Plutko had filled the role of next-man-up throughout this season, in which he's had six stints in the Majors, balanced with 14 starts at Triple-A. With Bauer out four-to-six weeks with a stress fracture in his right fibula, the Indians may give Plutko an extended look in the rotation. Veteran Josh Tomlin (10-day DL, right hamstring) is also building up his innings on a Minor League rehab assignment.
Against the Orioles (37-86), Plutko ended his outing by retiring the last 14 batters he faced in succession. The three batters prior to that strong run is where the problem arose. In the third, Plutko walked Baltimore catcher Austin Wynns, allowed a bunt single to Cedric Mullins and then threw a full-count fastball over the heart of the plate to Jonathan Villar, who crushed it over the wall in right for a three-run home run.

"Thinking back on it, I'm wondering if I made the right pitch," Plutko said. "Ultimately, you've got three guys behind him who have mid-teen home runs and a couple of those guys are really good power hitters. The wind was blowing in pretty hard from center and right, so I think overall he just beat us. He did a better job on that pitch than I did. So, credit him."
Indians manager Terry Francona liked what he saw from Plutko as the outing wore on.
"He felt early on he wasn't commanding," Francona said. "He was pitching behind, kind of paying for it. Then he really reeled it in and pitched like he can pitch. Pitched ahead, commanded his fastball, started using his breaking ball and really pitched well. So that was good to see."
That was sufficient support for old Tribe nemesis Alex Cobb -- he blanked the Indians in the 2013 AL Wild Card Card Game in Cleveland -- in a complete-game gem. The Baltimore starter entered the game with a 3-15 record and 5.31 ERA, but limited the Tribe to just two runs on five hits, ending with three strikeouts, one walk and 14 outs via grounders.

Cobb held Cleveland to a 1-for-16 showing before Yan Gomes and Greg Allen connected for consecutive one-out singles in the sixth inning. Gomes then came home on a single by Francisco Lindor and Allen later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Michael Brantley. That is where the Tribe's push ended.
"He's not overpowering and he's around the plate with everything," Francona said of Cobb. "We just got a little impatient as we started getting into the middle innings, we started rolling over. That's when he's going to be successful."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
On second thought: After Lindor delivered a run-scoring single in the sixth inning, he then stayed put on first on Brantley's sac fly. With two outs, Baltimore holding a 3-2 lead and slugger Jose Ramirez at the plate, Cobb attempted pickoff throws to first twice, forcing Lindor to dive back to the bag. The Indians shortstop was then off and running to second on the first pitch to Ramirez. Wynns caught the outside breaking ball and came up firing, nabbing Lindor at second to bring an abrupt end to the inning.
"I like his aggressiveness, but I also like when he's safe," Francona said. "But again, the ballpark was playing so big today, that your chance of getting a single were a heck of a lot better than a home run."

Insurance shot: Righty Neil Ramirez took over for Plutko in the eighth inning and retired the first two batters he encountered. Then, Ramirez allowed a solo homer to Cedric Mullins, marking the first shot of the center fielder's MLB career and increasing the Orioles' lead to two runs. For Ramirez, it marked the seventh homer he's yielded in 13 2/3 innings since July 7. His rate of 4.61 homers allowed per nine innings in that time period is the highest among all MLB relievers (min. 10 innings).
"It's hard to figure out when he's going to give them up," Francona said. "A lot of pitchers will lead you to it. Like, you see them struggling or something. But, he can strike out two and then leave one in the middle and it gets whacked. It's frustrating. I know it's frustrating for him, because he's throwing the ball really well."

Rally grounded: In the seventh, Yonder Alonso singled to put runners on the corners with one out. At that juncture, Francona sent Rajai Davis to first as a pinch-runner. Davis (representing the go-ahead run at the time) was a threat to steal second, or at least come all the way around to score on an extra-base hit. Instead, Melky Cabrera grounded into a 4-6-3 double play on the first pitch to render Davis' entrance moot.
"We felt like we were in a really good spot -- a ton of speed on the bases," Francona said. "You hate to ever tell a hitter to take. It just, it was over so fast."

SOUND SMART
Allen's single in the sixth inning extended his hitting streak to 11 games. The rookie center fielder has posted a .375 (15-for-40) average over that span. It's the third-longest hitting streak of the season for an Indians batter, trailing streaks by Brantley (19 games) and Lindor (15). Allen's run is tied with Toronto's Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (July 11-29) and Tampa Bay's Joey Wendle (June 28-July 11) for the longest hitting streak by an AL rookie this year.

UP NEXT
Right-hander Mike Clevinger (8-7, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Tribe on Sunday, when the Indians host the Orioles at 1:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field. Clevinger is 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 12 starts at home this season. Baltimore will counter with righty Yefry Ramirez (1-4, 5.40 ERA).