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  • Please hold: Indians’ Joe Smith jumps the gun on relief appearance

    The bullpen phones at Progressive Field were fully functional on Thursday afternoon, yet Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta and his bullpen still managed to mix their signals during their 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

    The awkward moment occurred while the Tigers were mounting a threat against starter Justin Masterson in the seventh inning. With two men aboard and one out, Acta casually strolled to the mound to discuss strategy, and perhaps gauge how much Masterson had left in the tank as he approached 100 pitches.

    Meanwhile, out in the Indians bi-level bullpen stationed in right-center field, the interpretation was that Acta's appearance signified the end of Masterson's afternoon, which is an understandable assumption. It's very rare that a manager's visit doesn't involve a pitching change. But in this case, the signal never came, and reliever Joe Smith, who had jogged down the stairs and made it about 10 yards into the outfield, was forced to make a U-turn and camp out in the lower portion of the bullpen.

    [MLB Full Count: Watch live look-ins and highlights for free all season long]

    As it turned out, Smith's services were not required at any point during the game. Masterson escaped the inning without any damage. Setup man Vinnie Pestano followed with a perfect eighth inning. And then closer Chris Perez converted his 16th consecutive save since opening day, as Cleveland expanded its lead to four games in the American League Central overall, and six games over the heavily favored Tigers.

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  • The Juice: Brandon Phillips flip sets up Todd Frazier walkoff for Reds

    The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

    Flipping out: Little Leaguers, please: Do not try this at home. It will go in the books as a 4-6 force out, but that's only because they don't put pictures on scorecards. With the go-ahead run on second base in the seventh inning, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips needed to keep Michael Bourn's sharp grounder in the infield and get an out somewhere — if possible. Phillips dived to his right, knocked the ball down and kept it close enough that he was able to flip it with his bare hand — while contorting his body — to teammate Zack Cozart just before pinch runner Tim Hudson could slide into the second base bag. Phillips never had a grip on the ball, but he was in control in his own way.

    Two innings later... : In the bottom of the ninth, Todd Frazier made everyone flip out in a different way, ending what began as a pitcher's duel between Bronson Arroyo and Atlanta's Tommy Hanson with an oppo taco against Cristhian Martinez for a 2-1 victory and a 3-0 series lead sweep at Great American Ball Park. Frazier didn't get all of it, but you don't always have to in that stadium. From the Associated Press:

    This one barely cleared the wall in right field, landing in the first row of seats an estimated 355 feet away.

    ''I knew when I hit it that I got a lot of it,'' Frazier said. ''I was hoping it was enough. It just got over. Fine with me.''

    The teams combined for 11 home runs in the three-game set. Cincy's won five straight.

    Cole Hamels, stopper: Round two of Cole Hamels vs. Bryce Harper yielded no intentionally hit batters. It was pretty one-sided, though, with Hamels pitching eight shutout innings in a 4-1 victory for the Phillies, who stopped a four-game losing streak. Washington had won six straight in Philly.

    New chief in town?: The Cleveland Indians aren't going away, are they? Jason Kipnis scraped his arm and drew blood on home plate sliding in for the go-ahead run (with the help of a throwing error by Prince Fielder) in a 4-2 victory against the Detroit Tigers. It also guaranteed Cleveland a series victory against the defending AL Central champs, who won the final 10 meetings between the two a season ago.

    * * *

    Quote of the Day: ''When you give it up, you can't keep giving it up or it's going to be a long night." — Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn after allowing three runs in the first inning, before rebounding with five scoreless innings in a 6-3 victory against the Padres.

    * * *

    Photo of the Day: Barry Zito takes a walk of shame and shadows.

    Jeez, Beezy, it's not so bad. The Giants' Zito allowed eight runs — four earned — along with five hits and four walks over three innings in an 8-5 loss at Milwaukee. OK, that's pretty bad.

    * * *

    Three Facts for the Water Cooler:

    • The Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 11-4, averting what would have been the second sweep for L.A. at Chase Field in the park's 14-year history.

    • Alex Liddi of the Mariners became the second player born in Italy to hit a grand slam (salami, if you will) in a 5-3 victory against the Rangers. The first: Reno Bertoia, in 1958, for the Tigers. The next thing for Liddi: Get the ball to Tommy Lasorda for a blessing.

    • Alex Rodriguez snapped a 52 at-bat streak without a home run, hitting two for the Yankees in an 8-3 victory against the Royals.

    * * *

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