Cleveland @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 29, 2013 ) Cleveland 1, Atlanta 3

The Cleveland Indians are the hottest team in baseball with wins in nine straight games and have started to pull away from the pack in the American League Central. The Indians will try to make it 10 in a row when they visit one of the worst teams in the majors for the start of a three-game interleague series against the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

Cleveland pounded out 22 runs in a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers to begin a 10-game road trip and is averaging 6.7 runs during the winning streak. Juan Uribe, Tyler Naquin, Mike Napoli and Lonnie Chisenhall each homered off Justin Verlander in the fifth inning of Sunday’s 9-3 triumph while Josh Tomlin continued the strong run for the starting pitchers with eight solid innings. The Braves still own the worst record in the National League at 26-49 but are playing better of late with wins in eight of their last 11 games. Atlanta battled the New York Mets over the weekend and took the finale 5-2 to earn a four-game split after falling 1-0 in 11 innings on Saturday.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Trevor Bauer (5-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. Braves RH John Gant (1-2, 4.45)

Bauer is riding the wave straight up with the rest of his teammates and has posted six consecutive quality starts. The UCLA product put together his best effort against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, when he scattered one run and three hits over nine innings while striking out 10. Bauer surrendered a total of five earned runs in 31 2/3 innings in his last four starts with 32 strikeouts and six walks in that span.

Gant is making his fourth straight start since entering the rotation and kept the Braves in the game in each of the first three. The 23-year-old earned his first win against the New York Mets on June 17 but could not make it two in a row as he was reached for three runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in a loss at Miami on Wednesday. Gant is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in four career home games – one start.

WALK-OFFS

1. Indians SS Francisco Lindor is 5-for-9 with two home runs and four runs scored in the last two games.

2. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis is 8-for-17 with four doubles in the last four games.

3. Chisenhall went 4-for-4 on Sunday and recorded multiple hits in three of the last five games.

PREDICTION: Indians 6, Braves 2