Mark Reynolds has done a little bit of everything for the Indians this season, and his willingness to do so has been of great help to manager Terry Francona. Now, one day after the Indians optioned 24-year old Lonnie Chisenhall to Triple-A Columbus, Reynolds’ role has become a little more defined.

“He’ll certainly get the majority of the time,” said Francona, who had Reynolds penciled in at third base for the second straight day. “It’s one thing to put him there sparingly, but you don’t want to run him into the ground. That’s part of what makes this team so much fun to manage.

“Mark is a perfect example. He has played first, he’s played third and he’s been our designated hitter. He’s done it willingly. It makes it kind of fun.”

Reynolds has hit .279 this year with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs. For the most part, he has done well in the 17 games he started at first, in which he has hit .331 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. In a smaller sample size at third, he has hit only .211 in seven games, but Francona sees those numbers improving with consistency.

“I think he likes third,” Francona said. “I think in Spring Training, we asked him to play a game or two and he did it without questions because he likes it.”

The Indians came to Citizens Bank Park a confident group, and it’s hard to argue the point. With wins in 13 of 16 games, the Tribe had every reason to feel good with the resurgent Scott Kazmir on the mound against a struggling Phillies offense.

“As a team, we’ve been pretty hot,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It was one of those games where I thought if we hang around here, that at one point we’d string a long inning together and we never did.”

As Kazmir battled his command for five-plus innings, the Indians (21-17) failed to support him with much offense in a 6-2 loss in the first of two Interleague games between the two teams. It’s the first time the Indians have lost back-to-back games since they lost three straight from April 24-28.

Kazmir allowed four runs — two on a pair of home runs to Kevin Frandsen and Dominic Brown — and struck out just three. The first home run by Frandsen came on a slider in the first inning and in turn, Kazmir went away from the pitch he worked hard on in Spring Training and has been a big element in his recent success.

“I was pretty much fighting myself the whole game,” Kazmir said. “I never got into a rhythm.

“[The slider] wasn’t good in the first inning, and then we just abandoned it. That’s something that you know I’ll get more confident in as I pitch. It won’t happen anymore. Even my last two starts, it was effective especially as a strikeout pitch.”

It’s impossible to say whether a chilly day at Progressive Field had anything to do with the Indians’ cold bats. The club was able to get away with its muted offense in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader against the Yankees, but the same would not hold up during the encore.

Shortly after Justin Masterson’s shutout of the Yankees in Game 1, New York starter Vidal Nuno and reliever Adam Warren combined to pitch a shutout of their own in Game 2. Cleveland dropped the second game, 7-0, despite a strong showing by right-hander Trevor Bauer.

clevelandindians:

Kipnis is SAFE! #TribeTown

giveforthwonders:

Hey Swish!! 

tribetimenever:

Last Indians game for a while! #indians #baseball #cleveland @22jcole by maybilly22 http://bit.ly/12WZ65D

tribetimenever:

The season is early, but the parts seem to fit for the Indians

Hey, hey, hey let’s go Tribe. Fox Sport’s Pat McManamon (@PatMcManamon) believes the Indians are giving fans plenty of reasons to believe in them this season.