Civale touched for 5 runs in loss to Cards

With a runner on third, Indians starter Aaron Civale made a slight flinch that resulted in a balk, and the right-hander was forced to watch his career-high fifth earned run cross the plate in the third inning of the Tribe’s 7-2 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday at Busch Stadium.

With a runner on third, Indians starter Aaron Civale made a slight flinch that resulted in a balk, and the right-hander was forced to watch his career-high fifth earned run cross the plate in the third inning of the Tribe’s 7-2 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday at Busch Stadium.

Civale still managed to toss six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a season-high two walks. But after he was replaced at the start of the seventh with a three-run Cardinals lead, the Indians’ offense was unable to put together a rally against Adam Wainwright.

• Box score

On his 39th birthday, Wainwright tossed a complete game, limiting the Tribe to two runs (a two-run homer from Tyler Naquin) on four hits with nine strikeouts. Although St. Louis’ pitching staff entered the afternoon with the fifth-lowest team ERA (3.69) in the Majors, Cleveland’s inconsistency on offense has been a theme all season.

The Tribe started the three-game series with a bang on Friday, recording 20 hits and scoring 14 runs, but the Indians were limited to fewer than six hits in each of the next two games. Aside from Naquin’s homer that extended his hitting streak to 10 games, only Francisco Lindor, Cesar Hernandez and Delino DeShields logged a hit on Sunday.

Cleveland remains in the thick of the American League Central race thanks to its incredible pitching staff that entered Sunday with a Major League-best 2.75 ERA. However, when the club doesn’t receive a stellar performance from its starter, the Indians’ bats have struggled to pick them up. The Tribe has gone just 2-11 in games in which it trailed after six innings. And with the 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline on Monday, this may just be another reminder of how helpful acquiring an impact bat could be for a team with high odds of making the postseason.