"Jim Thome saw three pitches from Kansas City reliever Greg Holland on Sunday. Sort of.

The first two clocked 95 on the radar gun, the final one a goosed 97.

With Thome's last, late mighty whiff came the realization that this day at the ballpark had been reduced to a puncher's chance that failed to connect in a 2-1 loss to the Royals.

In the absence of a baseball equivalent of a rope-a-dope, the default strategy here on is to hold their own with starting pitching, ask the bullpen to clinch the breath out of the opposition, and try to land late blows as they did in winning Friday and Saturday against K.C.

At this point in Thome's Hall of Fame career, the Indians can't realistically ask for as much as they probably need to catch the Tigers. Not with Sunday bringing news that Michael Brantley's season is over and rumblings that Travis Hafner's season could go the same route.

The disabled list: Grady Sizemore, Jason Kipnis, Hafner, Brantley, Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Crowe. Shin-Soo Choo isn't disabled, just injured.

"We can't call the commissioner and ask for a month off," manager Manny Acta said. "