Cleveland @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2013 ) Cincinnati 1, Cleveland 9

The Cleveland Indians have not fared well against strong teams in their last two series. The competition only grows stiffer on Monday, when the Indians visit the Cincinnati Reds for the start of an interleague series. The Reds and Cleveland will meet in four straight games this week, with Cincinnati hosting the first two. The Indians had gone 18-4 to jump into first place before dropping five of six against Detroit and Boston.

Pitching - particularly in the late innings - has been Cleveland’s Achilles heel over the last week. The bullpen wasted strong starts by Scott Kazmir and Cory Kluber over the weekend as the Red Sox rallied for four runs in the eighth on Saturday and four in the ninth on Sunday. Vinnie Pestano’s meltdown on Saturday forced manager Terry Francona to answer questions about the right-hander’s elbow while closer Chris Perez had to leave Sunday’s game with an apparent arm injury. The Reds had a little meltdown with their own relief corps in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, but have generally been solid at the end of games.

TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), Fox Sports Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3, 6.04 ERA) vs. Reds RH Mike Leake (4-2, 3.25)

Jimenez is not the most likely candidate in the rotation to give Cleveland's bullpen a day off. The veteran right-hander has completed seven innings only once in nine starts and has pitched through the sixth just two other times. He allowed six runs and seven hits in four innings to suffer a loss to Detroit on Wednesday. Jimenez has never lost to Cincinnati, owning a 3-0 record with a 3.09 ERA in five starts.

Leake has not allowed a run in either of his last two starts, surrendering a total of 12 hits over 13 2/3 innings to earn wins over light-hitting clubs Miami and the New York Mets. The 25-year-old has surrendered two or fewer earned runs in five of his last seven turns. Leake has made three starts against the Indians in his career, going 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA.

WALK-OFFS

1. Reds OF Shin-Soo Choo will get his first chance to face his former team. Choo, who was dealt in the offseason in a deal that brought Drew Stubbs back to Cleveland, is 1-for-21 over his last six games.

2. The teams split six meetings last season, with each earning a three-game sweep at its own stadium.

3. Cincinnati has not lost back-to-back games since April 30 and May 1.

PREDICTION: Reds 6, Indians 4