CLEVELAND _ If there was anything working for Trevor Bauer on Monday night, it wasn't apparent.
Bauer seemed to struggle with his command from the first pitch of the game, and those issues weren't alleviated until he handed the ball to manager Terry Francona and walked off the mound, as the Indians were drilled by the Chicago White Sox 9-1 at Progressive Field.
After two one-run wins that followed the placement of Corey Kluber on the injured list on Friday, the Indians have now had back-to-back ugly losses including the 10-0 trouncing at the hands of the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
For Bauer, it was his worst start in recent memory. He left a fastball down the middle of the plate to leadoff hitter Leury Garcia, who hit it hard for a single. A changeup that caught too much of the plate was then launched for a two-run home run by Yoan Moncada that landed near the concourse behind the seating in right field.
Two batters in, two hits with an exit velocity of 107 mph, two runs for the White Sox.
The White Sox (15-18) made it 3-0 via a Moncada sacrifice fly in the third and an inning later, Bauer left a slider up and it was crushed by James McCann halfway up the bleacher seats in left field for a 4-0 lead. Moncada wasn't down tormenting Bauer, though, as he added an RBI double in the fifth.
Bauer finished with eight runs allowed _ seven earned _ on 10 hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. The outing raised his season ERA, which now sits at 3.42, nearly a full run.
For the second consecutive day, the Indians' lineup faced a starting pitcher who had been struggling, but they couldn't take advantage of it. White Sox starter Ivan Nova entered Monday night's start with an 8.33 ERA but held the Indians (18-15) to one run on six hits with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. In the reverse situation of Bauer, Nova's ERA was lowered nearly a full run to 7.36.
The Indians' lone run came in the fifth. Jordan Luplow and Tyler Naquin opened the inning with singles and with two outs, Jason Kipnis ripped a single to right field. Though, for the second consecutive night, the Indians went down without much of a counterpunch.
