Justin Masterson will try to put the finishing touches on a successful road trip for the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday when they attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
Masterson leads the Indians with 13 wins and a 3.59 ERA and is fourth in the major leagues with 175 2/3 innings, including three complete games while going six-plus innings in 23 of his 26 starts.
However, he is 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA over his last three starts. But, he is 3-0 lifetime versus the Angels with a 2.59 ERA in 11 games (8 starts).
Cleveland improved to 5-3 on its nine-game trek Tuesday, as Drew Stubbs smashed a two-run homer off Joe Blanton in the 14th inning to boost the Indians to a 4-1 win.
The Indians totaled eight hits on the night and were hitless in their first 19 at-bats with men on base. They stranded two men in scoring position in the 13th when Asdrubal Cabrera flied out, but capitalized the next frame.
Lonnie Chisenhall singled to center with one out and Stubbs belted a 2-2 offering off Blanton (2-14) to left-center to give the Indians their fifth victory in seven contests. They also pulled within 5 1/2 games of Detroit for first place in the AL Central.
"It was a fastball, I knew I hit it good, but you never know," Stubbs said. "When I knew it was over the fence it was more relief. This would have been a tough game to lose."
Michael Bourn, who made a game-saving grab at the wall to rob Hank Conger of a potential winning hit in the 12th, scored Cleveland's final run thanks to a Blanton error. Bourn had an infield single, stole second and scored when Blanton threw high to first on Jason Kipnis' bouncer in front of the plate.
Carlos Carrasco (1-4), the ninth pitcher of the night for the Indians, earned his first victory since June 29, 2011. He put two men on base in the 14th before retiring the final two hitters to end the 5-hour, 17-minute contest.
The teams combined to go 1-for-18 with men in scoring position and stranded 29 runners, 17 by the Angels.
"That was just a really fun game to be a part of," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "There wasn't much offense going on, but both teams kept playing until the end. We had some guys dig pretty deep."
J.B. Shuck homered to right on Danny Salazar's second pitch of the night, but the Angels lost for the eighth time in 10 games.
It may not get any better for the Halos in Wednesday's finale, as they turn to struggling right-hander Jerome Williams, who is 0-7 with a 7.26 ERA in 11 starts since rejoining Los Angeles' rotation.
"I don't really feel frustrated at all," said Williams, who is 5-9 with a 4.90 ERA. "Things haven't been going my way, so what can I do? I just have to keep going out there and trying to get people out."
The Angels won two of three when these teams met up in Cleveland from Aug. 9-11.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.