Angels Demolish Indians 7-1 for Three Game Sweep

Apr 30, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick (47) takes the throw as Cleveland Indians right fielder David Murphy (7) is out on a steal attempt in the second inning of the game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Indians Finish Road Trip 0-6 With Loss to Angels

The Indians can’t get home to Cleveland fast enough. After being swept out of San Francisco by the Giants, the Indians were in desperate need of a win. Well, they didn’t fair much better in Anaheim and after losing Wednesday night’s game 7-1. The loss completed the three game sweep and sends the Indians back to Progressive Field winless in their last six contests.

Unlike the previous two nights, the Indians didn’t put up much of a fight on Wednesday. They jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from David Murphy, but after that the offense was stymied by C.J. Wilson. Meanwhile, the Angels offense exploded and made life rough  on Zach McAllister.

Speaking of McAllister, he made Wednesday night’s start on short rest. That was due in part to the demotion of Carlos Carrasco. Anyone who has paid any attention knows that he has struggled out the gates for the Indians. They finally made the decision to move him to the bullpen in an attempt to straighten things out. They have yet to decide whether Josh Tomlin or Trevor Bauer will replace him.

McAllister struggled through 4.1 innings of work. He allowed five runs to cross the plate on four hits and four walks while also striking out five Angels. It was clear that he just did not have his usual command thank to having only three days of rest. It also didn’t help that he was on a pitch limit of about 80 pitches.

The biggest blow of the game for the Angels came in the bottom half of the second. Immediately after the Indians scored, the Angels responded thanks to a two-run home run off the bat of Hank Conger. His home run gave the Angels a 2-1 lead. It would prove to be a lead they would not relinquish. In fact, all they did was add to it.

The Angels added a third run in the third thanks to a sacrifice fly by Albert Pujols. In the fifth, David Frees plated two runs with a single to center. Finally, in the sixth, the Angels scored their sixth and seventh runs when Mike Trout doubled to deep center. That made it a 7-1 ball game and send the Indians back to Cleveland wounded both physically and mentally.

The Indians will now have a day to recuperate. With Thursday’s scheduled off day, they will have a chance to figure out just what went wrong on their six game road trip and how to best fix what ails them. They also need to decide on the replacement to Carlos Carrasco in the starting rotation. Carrasco pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on Wednesday and looked comfortable out of the pen.

The Indians will prepare to take on the Chicago White Sox in a three game series set to begin on Friday.

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