Indians P Justin Masterson out with an oblique injury

The Cleveland Indians will be without starting pitcher Justin Masterson for at least one start.

According to Nick Camino of Newsradio WTAM 1100, “Masterson said he’ll miss his next start” and “still has soreness on left side where MRI showed strain.”

Masterson left Monday’s 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles after pitching just one inning. The 28-year old is 14-10 with a 3.52 ERA this season. He has 188 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.21.

The Indians’ playoff hopes are already fading, so losing their ace for an extended period of time would probably end any hope of a playoff appearance. The Indians are currently 8.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central and four games behind the the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wildcard spot (the Baltimore Orioles are 3.5 games ahead of the Indians while the New York Yankees are three games ahead of the Indians).

“He’s the head of our team, basically,” said second baseman Jason Kipnis. “He’s the workhorse. He’s the big fella that you feel confident in every time he goes out there. You look at guys like him to stop losing streaks and to give us a quality game where we can get refocused.”

The Indians will take on the Orioles again Tuesday night. First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 7:05 pm EST.