Cleveland @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 28, 2010 ) Cleveland 3, LA Angels 4
Baseball's schedule makers are always coming up with new and innovative ways to keep people amused.
Perhaps that's why they waited until Labor Day to have the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels play for the first time this season.
The teams open a three-game series on Monday in Anaheim and will meet again for a three-game series next week in Cleveland. So after going five months without playing each other, the teams will meet six times in 11 days.
Considering the way the two clubs have played this season, a cynic would say baseball would be better off if the upcoming games were skipped altogether - but that's not going to happen.
While the teams are playing out the string in the final month, there is one difference. The Indians have been doing it for most of the season. Cleveland has the second-worst record in the American League and is 9-20 since Aug. 4.
The Indians, who have a roster dominated by young players, struggle in all areas of the game, but their offense is among the worst in baseball. Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners was the 13th time the Indians have been shut out this season, a total that leads the league.
Carlos Carrasco makes his second start of the season for Cleveland. He held the Chicago White Sox to three runs in 7 1/3 innings on Wednesday, the best outing of his brief career and a major improvement from the way he pitched last season after being acquired in the trade that sent ace pitcher Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.
Carrasco was 0-4 with a 7.58 ERA in six starts last season. He allowed 46 hits, including eight home runs, in 29 2/3 innings and opponents hit .365. The right-hander pitched well enough for his first major league win against Chicago, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.
The Angels acquired Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline with the idea the deal would help them get back in the AL West race. That never happened, even though Haren has pitched reasonably well in eight starts for the Angels, going 2-4 with a 3.50 ERA and one complete game.
Haren has been solid in his last two starts. He pitched seven shutout innings in his last outing against Seattle and held the Tampa Bay Rays to one run in six innings on Aug. 25.
The Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics, 7-4 on Sunday behind two-run homers by Bobby Abreu and Mike Napoli in the third inning. Los Angeles had scored one run in the first 20 innings of the series.