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Indians try to avoid sweep by Angels

Apr 30, 2014 - 2:52 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Cleveland Indians send Zach McAllister to the hill on three days' rest Wednesday when they try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.

McAllister threw a season-low 75 pitches in a loss to San Francisco on Saturday that dropped him to 3-1 on the season. That and the fact that manager Terry Francona decided to demote the struggling Carlos Carrasco to the bullpen played into bringing him back on short rest for the first time in his career.

Over his last four turns in the Tribe's rotation, the 26-year-old McAllister has gone 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA and a .217 opponents' batting average. Cleveland's starting rotation as a whole, though, ranks among the AL's worst with a 4.72 ERA.

"You try to do what you think is best for the players and the team and you balance that out," Francona said. "It's just, for now, this is what we're doing. We're trying to balance a number of things."

The Angels, meanwhile, will counter with lefty C.J. Wilson, who is 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA. Wilson won for the third time in four starts on Friday in New York, as he held the Yankees to a run and four hits over six innings.

"I think one of the big things for pitching well (in New York)," Wilson said, "is you have to understand what you're getting into. You know that the fans are going to be on top of your case. When you're warming up, they're going to be calling you a bum or whatever. They have a really good lineup, and it's important to get off to a good start."

Wilson has faced the Angels 25 times (7 starts) and is 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA.

Los Angeles won again on Tuesday, as Chris Iannetta collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs and Erick Aybar added four hits and an RBI in the Angels' 6-4 triumph.

Howie Kendrick added two RBI and Collin Cowgill drove in a run for the Angels, who have won five of eight.

Jered Weaver (2-2) allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out six over 5 1/3 innings. Joe Smith spun a perfect ninth to earn his second save.

"Obviously, I would have liked to get deeper in the game, but I made the most of it," Weaver said.

Carlos Santana went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI and Michael Brantley added a double and an RBI for the Indians, losers in five straight.

Corey Kluber (2-3) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings.

"He had good stuff. He kept the ball down and he has a couple of good weapons to put you away," the Angels' Albert Pujols said of Kluber.

Cleveland was 4-2 versus the Angels last season.