CLEVELAND -- Masa Kobayashi has overcome the culture shock. His right arm, though, has a little catching up to do.

As a result of the well-chronicled struggles of the Tribe bullpen, the Japanese reliever has been asked to perform in nearly every type of role in his first professional season in America. He even closed for a stretch before he was yanked from that role after multiple ineffective outings.

"I think it was asking a little bit much of him to close," manager Eric Wedge said. "He did a decent job a few times, and a few times he didn't. It's just a byproduct of the difficulty we have had in the bullpen."

That difficulty has caused Wedge to use Kobayashi, one of the few consistently dependable arms out of the bullpen, many more times than envisioned when the Tribe signed him to a two-year, $6.25 million contract. He has made 51 appearances -- second most behind Rafael Perez -- and thrown 50 2/3 innings, also the second most for relievers behind Perez. For the Chiba Lotte Mariners in Japan last season, Kobayashi made just 49 appearances and threw 3 1/3 fewer innings.

"I think it's fair to say that he's probably wearing down a little bit," Wedge said.

The numbers have indicated that. Kobayashi's ERA has gotten worse by the month, as his August ERA currently sits at 36.00 after three appearances -- and that's after he recorded a scoreless inning Thursday night against the Orioles.

How the Indians, who open up a three-game series with the Angels on Friday night at Progressive Field, plan to use the 34-year-old reliever the rest of the season is tough to discern, considering the constant tumult in the Tribe's 'pen. But pitching coach Carl Willis said that he and Wedge will pay extra attention to Kobayashi.

"We can't lose sight of the fact that it's his first year in the States playing in our Major Leagues," Willis said. "Naturally, it's taken a bit of a toll."

One way Willis and Wedge have monitored Kobayashi is by pulling him almost immediately if he struggles with the first few hitters.

"It seems, especially of late, you can tell if he's not going to have any angle on his fastball," Willis said. "That again, is the result of his number of appearances and innings."

Pitching matchup
CLE: LHP Cliff Lee (16-2, 2.45 ERA)
Lee continued his bid to become the Indians' first 20-game winner in 34 years and the Tribe's second Cy Young Award winner in two years with eight scoreless innings in a win over the Blue Jays on Sunday. He allowed eight hits, walked none and struck out one, and he was so in command of his fastball that just 21 of his 104 pitches went for balls. Lee hasn't faced the Angels this season and is 4-3 with a 3.56 ERA in seven starts against them in his career.

LAA: RHP Jered Weaver (10-9, 4.51 ERA)
Weaver wasn't at his best against the Yankees on Friday night at home, but it didn't matter on a night the Angels' bats battered New York. Weaver wasn't happy departing after six innings, having yielded five earned runs on seven hits, but the "W" was attached to his name, so it wasn't all bad. He yielded a pair of solo homers and lost his command during a two-run third inning, walking in a run. Weaver is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA in five career starts against the Indians.

Tidbits
Double-A Akron's Matt LaPorta hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning of Team USA's 7-0 victory over the Netherlands on Thursday morning. ... Lee is the first Major League pitcher to start 16-2 since Pedro Martinez did in 2002. He has accounted for 30 percent of the Indians' wins this season, the most for any Major League pitcher this year. He is on pace for 22 wins this season. ... Josh Barfield went 0-for-2 in his rehab assignment at Akron on Thursday. Barfield has been on the disabled list with a sprained left middle finger since June 12. ... The eight runs the Tribe allowed the Orioles in the eighth inning Thursday night were the most they have given up in a single inning this season.

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Up next
• Saturday: Angels (John Lackey, 9-2, 3.15) at Indians (Fausto Carmona, 5-4, 4.91), 3:55 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Angels (Joe Saunders, 14-5, 3.07) at Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 1-6, 5.70), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day