Surging Dodgers visit stagnant Indians

Stats, LLC

(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- The red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers and the not-so-hot Cleveland Indians meet Wednesday night at Progressive Field in the second contest of their three-game series.

Whether Cleveland manager Terry Francona will be in the dugout remains to be seen. Francona had to leave the dugout in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game because he was feeling ill. There was no immediate word following the game on Francona's condition.

The Dodgers are feeling just fine, buoyed by their rookie slugger Cody Bellinger, who is hitting home runs at a remarkable rate. Bellinger goes into Wednesday's game having hit .500 (6-for-12), with five home runs and eight RBIs in his last three games. Overall, he has hit 17 home runs in 165 at-bats.

"For a young player to impact a championship caliber team like this, he's exceeded our expectations," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And the best part is he's going to continue to get better."

Bellinger's 26 extra base hits this year are tied for first on the Dodgers with Corey Seager, and Seager has 66 more at-bats than Bellinger.

Los Angeles (40-25) is riding a five-game winning streak that has taken them to the top of the National League West.

The Indians (31-30), meanwhile, continue to hover around the .500 mark as they have for most of the season. The Indians are 2-2 in the first four games of this six-game homestand.

They have a losing record at Progressive Field (14-16). In their march to the American League pennant last year, the Indians had a .654 winning percentage at home (53-28).

The pitching matchup Wednesday will be Cleveland's Corey Kluber (5-2, 4.38 ERA) versus the Dodgers' Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.28).

This will be Kluber's third start since spending most of the month of May on the disabled list with tightness in his lower back. In two starts since coming off the DL, Kluber is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. In 12 innings he has allowed three earned runs on nine hits, with 18 strikeouts and three walks while holding opposing batters to a .214 batting average.

Wednesday will be Kluber's second career start against the Dodgers. The other came June 30, 2014, a 1-0 loss despite the fact that he allowed only one run over 6 2/3 innings.

Although he missed a month of the season with his back condition, Kluber has been the best starter by far in the Indians' rotation. The Indians rank near the top of the American League in team ERA, but that's mostly because of their stellar bullpen.

The bullpen has been led by Andrew Miller, who had a rare off night in Tuesday's loss, giving up his first home run of the season -- to Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger in the eighth inning.

"I was 3-0 to a couple guys. I need to be better at getting ahead and throwing strikes," said Miller, who still is having an All-Star caliber season. In 28 appearances, he is 3-1 with a 0.55 ERA.

McCarthy is 0-2 in his last two starts, despite a 3.27 ERA. In 19 career appearances (11 starts) against Cleveland, McCarthy is 6-5 with a 3.98 ERA. In nine career appearances (six starts) at Progressive Field, McCarthy is 4-1 with a 3.70 ERA.