Los Angeles @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Cleveland 0

Lost in the rubble that has become the season for the Los Angeles Angels is the year being put together by Ervin Santana.

The right-hander needs one win in his last four starts of the season to set a career high in victories. His quest begins Thursday when he starts in the deciding contest of a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.

Santana (16-9) won 16 games in 2006 and again in 2008. Any doubts raised when he slumped to 8-8 with a 5.03 ERA in 2009 have been answered this season. Only three pitchers in the league – CC Sabathia, David Price and Jon Lester – have won more games than Santana, who has victories in eight of his last 10 starts.

Santana and Jered Weaver, who dominated the Indians on one hit in seven innings Wednesday night, have been among the few reliable things for the defending American League West champions, who are days away from being eliminated from the race.

Santana will try to do something he hasn't accomplished in his career – defeat the Indians. He's 0-6 with a 5.71 ERA in eight career starts against Cleveland, although the Indians he's facing this time around don't resemble the team he's struggled against in the past.

Cleveland's lineup at this point in the season consists mostly of young players who have spent parts of the season in the minors or castoffs who are trying to hang on to spot in the majors.

While Fausto Carmona (12-14) hasn't had Santana's numbers, he has also enjoyed a resurgence in 2010. After going 5-12 last season, which included a demotion to rookie ball at one point, Carmona has put himself back in Cleveland's plans for the future. His record is under .500, but the right-hander has shown signs that he can be a front-of-the-rotation starter.

Carmona was brilliant in his last start against Minnesota, which is closing in on the AL Central title. He threw his first career shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out seven, to break a stretch of six losing starts in a row.

Carmona was almost as good in his previous start against Seattle. He allowed one run, which came in the first, in eight innings, but the Indians couldn't push a run across the plate in a 1-0 loss.

The teams have split the first two games of the series. The Indians took a 4-3 decision Tuesday night behind two home runs and four RBIs by Shelley Duncan before Weaver pitched the Angels to a 7-0 win Wednesday night.

The Indians have been shut out 15 times, the most in the AL. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been blanked 16 times in the NL.