Indians Are Perfect Tonic for McCaskill : Angels: Cleveland commits three errors and loses, 4-2. It is right-hander’s second victory in 10 decisions.

When he pitched badly and lost, as happened in April and May, Kirk McCaskill could understand it even if he couldn’t accept it.

But when he pitched well and still lost, as happened during most of June and July, he agonized over his failures.

“I can’t tell you I didn’t panic, that I didn’t sit there thinking, ‘I lead the world in losses. The planet in losses. The universe in losses,’ ” he said. “It hits me sometimes, but I have to dispel it, move on, remember what my goal is.”

A reasonable goal would be to pitch as capably as he did Tuesday night in the Angels’ 4-2 victory over the Indians, which gave them a sweep of their two- game series at Cleveland Stadium and a three-game winning streak.

McCaskill (8-13) gave up two runs in the third inning, but he yielded only one other hit in his seven innings’ work. He kept the Angels in the game, and they rewarded him by getting two runs in the eighth on three hits, a passed ball, a groundout by Wally Joyner and a single by Dave Parker.

“There’s no question he’s had a month he’d like to forget from a won-loss standpoint,” Manager Doug Rader said of McCaskill, who had lost five consecutive decisions and eight of his last nine. “I’m glad July’s coming to an end and glad Kirk was finally able to win one.”

McCaskill had begun to wonder whether it was somehow his fault the Angels seemed to score fewer runs for him than for the other starters. Although he had held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 21 starts before Tuesday, he led the league in losses. In those defeats, the Angels scored only 12 runs while he was in the game.

On July 11 he gave up only two runs to the Yankees, but the Angels got only one hit--and no runs--against Scott Sanderson. In his next outing, July 15 against the Baltimore Orioles, McCaskill pitched eight shutout innings--but Chito Martinez hit a two-run home run with two out in the ninth against Bryan Harvey to beat the Angels, 2-1.

“I was thinking was my pace not good enough, questioning in my mind why it happened and did I have any input on why it happened,” McCaskill said. “You start internalizing everything and blaming yourself for everything, and that’s when you start messing up.

“I remember Don Sutton telling me it’s not how you pitch, it’s when you pitch. My last game (July 25 at Baltimore), I gave up four runs in six innings. I’ve won games like that before. It’s just evidence that it’s sometimes when you pitch that matters.

“What I’ve been trying to do since the All-Star break is be more consistent, take it one pitch at a time and not worry about anything else. If I was worrying about whether we’re going to score, I’d be in trouble.”

There’s rarely a need to worry about scoring against the error-prone Indians. One of the Angels’ two runs in the second inning against Dave Otto (0-1) was unearned because center fielder Alex Cole overran Dave Gallagher’s single to center, and Cleveland’s defensive deficiencies proved crucial again in the eighth.

With Sandy Alomar idled because of a sore hip and Joel Skinner battling double vision after colliding with Jeff Manto while trying to catch a sixth-inning pop-up near the Angel dugout, the Indians had to move Manto behind the plate. Bobby Rose led off the eighth with a single and Manto let Otto’s 1-and-2 pitch bounce off of his glove for a passed ball, which moved Rose into scoring position. Dick Schofield singled on the next pitch, moving Rose to third.

Although Rose was out in a rundown after Luis Sojo grounded to the mound, Schofield made it to third and Sojo to second while Rose prolonged the chase. Schofield scored on Joyner’s grounder to second, and after Dave Winfield was walked intentionally, Parker singled to drive in Sojo.

The Indians’ three errors increased their league-leading total to 89.

“You’ve got to capitalize on everything you possibly can at this point,” Parker said. “It’s late already. To pick up ground we have to execute extremely well.”

If the Indians hadn’t executed so poorly and had stayed even after 7 1/2 innings, Rader said he might have kept McCaskill in the game. The two runs made the decision for him, and he summoned Mark Eichhorn to set up Harvey for Harvey’s 25th save of the season.

“He’d already done his job,” Rader said of McCaskill. “You don’t want to have to worry about letting your heart get in the way or making the right decisions.”

McCaskill has decided not to worry about things he can’t control.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating not to win, but it was more frustrating when I was pitching poorly and losing,” he said.

“The bottom line is can you go out there and give your team a chance to win? I think I’ve done that since the All-Star break.”