CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It is a long fall from 455 straight sellouts to the lowest single-game attendance in Progressive Field history. The Indians, however, finally made it.

Their second straight spanking by the Chicago White Sox, a 8-3 loss on Saturday, was viewed by 9,853 fans. It doesn't matter what you call it -- Jacobs Field, The Jake, Progressive Field, The Prog -- it was the smallest gathering to ever watch the Indians play a game in the still-pristine ballpark at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

A forecast of snow and rain, which never materialized, may have held down the crowd. The Indians' lopsided loss in the season opener Friday probably played a part as well. They were down, 14-0, after four innings before losing, 15-10.

The drop in attendance from Friday's sellout of 41,721 was startling, but familiar. This is how fans used to react to the team when it drifted aimlessly for almost 40 years at Municipal Stadium, the old parking lot on the shores of Lake Erie.

Travis Hafner, who homered and singled Saturday, never witnessed the sellout streak that started June 12, 1995 and ended April 4, 2001. He arrived in 2003, well after the streak brought over 19 million fans into the ballpark.

"You'd like to have fans like Friday's opening day crowd, which was awesome," said Hafner. "It's up to us to play well and get wins and get the fans excited about the team."

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The Indians were last in attendance in the big leagues last year. Regarding the state of the team, and its appeal to fans, Hafner said, "I think we're in a good spot. We have a lot of young talent. I think the organization, starting this year, has a chance to be really good for a number of years."

Newcomers Jack Hannahan and Travis Buck felt right at home in front of Saturday's crowd. It reminded them of the pint-sized crowds they played in front of in Northern California.

"Coming from Oakland, where every crowd is small, this actually looked like a pretty good crowd," said Buck, who doubled in his first start in left field. "I'm sure the weather had something to do with it."

Buck spent parts of the last four years with the A's. Hannahan drove in two of the Tribe's three runs and had another strong game at third base. He spent parts of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons with the A's.

"Cleveland fans are good fans," said Hannahan. "From the fan mail I get, I can tell they know baseball. This was like Oakland ... an Oakland crowd."

Saturday's loss looked a lot like Friday's. The Indians emphasized to their pitchers all spring to throw first-pitch strikes and pound the strike zone. The White Sox scouted them well because they've been swinging early and not missing much.

Carlos Carrasco (0-1, 9.45) trailed, 5-0, before the White Sox were done hitting in the second inning. He gave up seven hits, including five in the second.

In the third, he started throwing first-pitch sliders, curves and change-ups for strikes instead of fastballs. It produced three scoreless innings as the Indians scored three runs in the second to make it 5-3. Hafner's leadoff homer and Hannahan's two-run single, following rookie third baseman Brent Morel's double error that put runners on third and second, accounted for the three runs against Edwin Jackson (1-0, 3.00).

The White Sox put the game away on Juan Pierre's two-out RBI single in the sixth and Carlos Quentin's two-run double off reliever Chad Durbin in the seventh. Carrasco allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two.

The White Sox have scored 23 runs on 29 hits in two days. They've scored 17 runs on 21 hits in 9 2/3 innings against starters Carrasco and Fausto Carmona.

"They're very aggressive hitters," said manager Manny Acta. "They did the same thing to Fausto on Friday. But there will be some days when they swing early and we get them out, too."

Jackson allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits in six innings. He's 8-1 lifetime against the Indians and 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA at Progressive Field.