by Dennis Manoloff, Plain Dealer Reporter , Plain Dealer

Others insist he's Lou Mar-SOHN.

Marson, a rookie catcher for the Tribe, is not partial.

"Mar-SOHN is really how you pronounce it, but MAR-son is fine, too," he said.

By either pronunciation, Marson played the best game of his brief time with the Indians on Friday night. He went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI in a 4-2 win against Baltimore at Progressive Field.

The victory, which snapped the club's 11-game losing streak, was Marson's first in nine games as an Indians starting catcher.

Not only did Marson have a good night in the box, he helped squeeze a quality performance out of Fausto Carmona (six innings, two runs). Carmona had been in a five-start slide.

Marson started his 10th game for the Indians on Saturday night against the Orioles. He batted seventh. He doubled in the fourth inning and singled in the sixth.

Marson's double in the fifth Friday drove in Andy Marte to give him his first RBI as an Indian. He had gone 27 official at-bats without one since being acquired in the Cliff Lee trade July 29.

"I was aware of it, but I wasn't thinking about it," Marson said of the RBI goose egg. "I don't think I'd had that many opportunities. If you have good at-bats, the rest will take care of itself."

Marson had gotten the first major-league RBI out of the way last September, in his debut. He homered and drove in two in what turned out to be his lone game for the Phillies in 2008.

He appeared in seven games for Philadelphia this season and was in Class AAA when the Lee trade went down. Prospects Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp and Jason Donald also came to Cleveland.

"The transition's been great," Marson said. "I kind of like the situation we have, where a lot of younger guys get a chance to develop together and do it at the big-league level. I think it's going to be good down the road."

Even if Marson wins the starting job out of spring training in 2010, he might be renting. Carlos Santana, the 2009 Eastern League MVP, is the Indians' catcher of the future until someone tells him otherwise.

Presumably, once the switch-hitting Santana demonstrates a better command of the English language and gets some Class AAA seasoning, he will take over in Cleveland.

Marson said he is aware of how highly the organization regards Santana. Marson also said he cannot worry about it.

"There's always going to be competition, no matter where you are," he said. "Right now, I'm just trying to get comfortable and get to know all the staff."

A fourth-round pick in 2004, Marson gained a reputation as a good defender and game-caller in the minors. He has done nothing in Cleveland to call that into question.

"It's tough to judge everything he does as a catcher until you see him a little more, but to this point, he's handled himself very well," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He has a presence and catches with a lot of confidence. If you talk to him about certain situations, certain things we see him going through, he has good answers. He's very aware of what's going on."

Car parts: Marson also caught Carmona on Sept. 15 at Minnesota, when the right-hander allowed five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-4 loss.

"Fausto's got very good stuff," Marson said. "He can be a little erratic at times, but it's definitely in there for him to be dominant like he was a couple of years ago."

Carmona went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007 but fell to 8-7, 5.44, last year. He is 4-12 with a 6.62 ERA this season.

Carmona relied on a fastball/changeup/slider combination against Baltimore. He gave up nine hits but walked only one and struck out six.

"He just needs to be consistent locating his fastball, and he'll be fine," Marson said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664

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