Tomlin's misstep costly in Indians' loss Hitting Miller with pitch sets up five-run fifth inning By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | 2:45 AM ET PHOENIX -- Shelby Miller was giving away an out and Indians starter Josh Tomlin planned on taking him up on the offer. That was until the changeup that spun from Tomlin's fingertips betrayed him, sailing high and inside and striking Miller in the chest. The Chase Field crowd unleashed some boos, but this was not malicious on Tomlin's part. It was simply a misstep, and a costly one in Cleveland's7-3 loss to the D-backs on Friday night. Instead of inducing a sacrifice bunt, Tomlin gave Miller a base, and Arizona capitalized with a five-run inning that sent the Tribe to its first loss of 2017. "You obviously want to get an out when a guy's giving you an out," Tomlin said. "He's sacrificing himself to move the guy to second base, so it kind of changed the whole dynamic of that inning." Tomlin had already been teetering before his game-changing mistake. After cruising through the first three innings, Tomlin flinched in the fourth. A walk to slugger Paul Goldschmidt helped set up a two-run outburst, which was highlighted by a Yasmany Tomas double off the wall in center. With Cleveland clinging to a 3-2 lead, Nick Ahmed led off the fifth with an infield single -- one with only a 14-percent hit probability, per Statcast™. Given the situation, a sac bunt was in order for Miller, who fouled off the first attempt before squaring around for another. Tomlin fired an 0-1 changeup, and the D-backs' pitcher quickly maneuvered out of the way, as the baseball flew near his face. That put runners on first and second with no outs, and the top of the D-backs' order loomed. "He started out good," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Tomlin. "When we got into the middle innings, they're trying to give us the out with the bunt and he hit him. Any time things like that happen, it doesn't bode real well for the inning." Tomlin nearly escaped, though. A.J. Pollock, Arizona's leadoff man, took three pitches and then swung through a 1-2 cutter for a strikeout. David Peralta followed with another strikeout, watching a sinker for the decisive pitch. The baserunners remained idle, but that sequence brought Goldschmidt back to the batter's box. Francona had a decision to make: Go to his bullpen or trust Tomlin? In his career, Tomlin had allowed an .833 OPS to batters the third time through the order. "It's the fifth inning," Francona said. "Whatever his history is, there's so much belief in him. I think he's earned that. If it's later in the game, that's different. But, in the fifth, if we start going to out bullpen and are matching up, we're going to run into a problem at some point." Francona stuck with Tomlin, who gave up a two-run double to Goldschmidt that pushed the D-backs ahead, 4-3. Jake Lamb followed with an RBI single to right field, convincing the Indians manager to pull the plug on Tomlin's outing. Reliever Dan Otero did not fare much better, allowing two more runs to cross the plate to put Cleveland in a hole it could not overcome. "That's what a good team does," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "They take advantage of those mistakes." When the dust settled, Tomlin was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings. A lot of the damage could be traced back to one errant changeup. "When they give you an out like that," Tomlin said, "you need to take it." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Kipnis itching to return from disabled list Tribe second baseman could begin rehab stint Sunday By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | 3:03 AM ET PHOENIX -- After spending seven weeks in Arizona for Spring Training, it was a little strange for the Indians to return to the desert for their second series of the season. The unusual scheduling worked out just fine for Jason Kipnis. "I'm bored out of my mind," Kipnis quipped on Friday. Prior to Friday's game against the D-backs, Kipnis joined his teammates at Chase Field, where the sidelined second baseman went through a workout. Kipnis, who is on the 10-day disabled list due to a right shoulder issue, took batting practice on the field and went through a series of game scenarios to simulate throws to each base. Kipnis said his shoulder feels "100-percent now" and he is scheduled to begin his Minor League rehab assignment soon. Indians manager Terry Francona noted that Kipnis would depart Arizona on Saturday and serve as the designated hitter for Double-A Akron on Sunday. If all goes well, Kipnis would play second for Akron on Monday before taking a scheduled day off. "He needs some at-bats," Francona said. "And he's coming back from rehabbing his shoulder, so we don't want to rush [him]. I don't think at- bats wise it's probably going to take him a lot, but we've probably got to get him out there where he plays back-to-back games defensively. I don't think that's going to take forever." While Kipnis is set to join Double-A Akron, right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall (also on the 10-day DL with a right shoulder issue) was due to begin his Minor League rehab as a DH for Triple-A Columbus on Friday night. The Indians are hopeful that Chisenhall will be ready to be activated in time for Tuesday's home opener. Kipnis' comeback is expected to take a little longer. "We'll try to get as many at-bats util we can get our timing," Kipnis said. "I think we'll see how the first five or six games go, or something, whatever it may take. If I look good after five games, I'm sure I'll be yelling at them to let me up." When they return, Cleveland might have some tough roster decisions to make. Outfielder Abraham Almonte made the Opening Day roster in light of Chisenhall's injury, and third baseman Yandy Diaz made the team with Kipnis out. Both Almonte and Diaz have played well out of the gates for the Tribe. "If things stay like they are," Francona said, "somebody's going to get sent down that doesn't deserve it. That's probably a good problem to have for the organization. It'll be a tough conversation." Kipnis, who has been rehabbing in Arizona, kept a close eye on the Indians during their season-opening sweep fo the Rangers in Texas. He has been impressed by what he has seen, especially given that two of the wins were come-from-behind victories. "They look good right now," Kipnis said. "To have that kind of fight already in the first series, it's fun to watch and exactly what you want in the team." Fast-starting Tribe fizzle vs. D-backs By Steve Gilbert and Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 2:48 AM ET PHOENIX -- For the first three innings, the D-backs' offense can look pretty pedestrian, but once they come up for the second time in a game, they seem to find their stride. That was evident again Friday night as they once again rallied, this time from a three-run deficit, to beat the Indians, 7-3, at Chase Field. The loss was the first of the year for the Indians, who swept the Rangers earlier this week. Arizona has trailed in each of its five game this season and has come back to win four of them thanks to its offense. Of the 34 runs the D-backs have scored this year, just one has come in the first three innings. They've scored 25 in innings four through six and eight in innings seven through nine. "There's no miracle to it," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "Everybody knows the more you face somebody the more familiar you get with them and their arm angle and release point and that's what good hitters do. Good hitters pay attention, they talk and they share information. Once they lock into that it's impressive to watch these guys go to work." Francisco Lindor hit his third homer in the last two games in the first inning to get the Indians off to a good start, while Carlos Santana added a two-run single in the second. The D-backs, though, scored a pair of runs in the fourth before breaking through for five runs in the fifth. Shelby Miller (1-0) picked up the win for the D-backs while Josh Tomlin (0-1) took the loss for the Indians. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED That'll leave a mark: After Nick Ahmed led off the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle, Miller squared around to try to sacrifice him to second. But Tomlin uncorked a pitch that nearly hit Miller in the face. As he turned away the ball hit him in the upper left chest. It would prove costly because if the Indians had gotten an out there then when Tomlin fanned the next two hitters the inning would've been over.