Cleveland @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 31, 2016 ) Oakland 0, Cleveland 8

The Cleveland Indians closed out a highly successful 11-game homestand over the weekend - one during which Jose Ramirez left his mark time and time again. The red-hot Ramirez puts his MLB-best 27-game on-base streak on the line Monday as the Indians begin a seven-game road trip with the first of three against the Oakland Athletics.

Cleveland went 8-3 during its long stay at Progressive Field and won three of the four one-run games to end the homestand, getting either the tying or game-winning run off the bat of its young third baseman late in each victory. Ramirez's RBI single tied the game in the eighth inning of Thursday's eventual 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox, his ninth-inning homer tied it up in Friday's eventual 3-2 victory over Toronto and his two-run blast in the eighth proved to be the winning hit in Sunday's 3-2 triumph over the Blue Jays. The Indians (71-51) hold a seven-game edge over Detroit in the American League Central and trail Texas (73-52) by 1 1/2 games for the best record in the AL. Oakland lost for the seventh time in eight contests following Sunday's 4-2 defeat versus the White Sox and could be dealing with some dissension in the ranks after Billy Butler was reportedly injured during a clubhouse spat with Danny Valencia over the weekend.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, STO (Cleveland), CSN California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (8-6, 3.34 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Andrew Triggs (0-1, 4.98)
Carrasco did not factor into the decision Wednesday versus the Chicago White Sox despite striking out 11 over 6 2/3 innings as he surrendered five runs (four earned) on eight hits. The 29-year-old Venezuelan is 1-2 with a 6.66 ERA in August but has posted a 5-3 record and 1.97 ERA in nine road turns. Carrasco went 1-0, 1.69 in two starts versus the Athletics in 2015, including a two-hitter at Oakland the last time he saw them July 30.
Triggs draws his third straight start - and the fourth of his career - after allowing only one run on two hits in a no-decision at Texas on Tuesday. The former 19th round pick of the Kansas City Royals has held his own as a member of the rotation in his rookie season, going 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in four turns (5.76 ERA in 19 relief appearances). Triggs, who faces Cleveland for the first time, has been far more effective at home thus far in his brief big-league career (3.86 ERA) than he has on the road (5.84).

WALK-OFFS

1. Despite going 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position Sunday, Ramirez is batting .381 with 45 RBIs in 105 such at-bats this season.
2. Valencia has recorded six consecutive two-hit games but has only 23 RBIs over the last two-plus months after plating 19 runs in May.
3. Cleveland outscored Oakland 19-6 during a three-game home sweep from July 29-31.

PREDICTION: Indians 5, Athletics 1