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May 31, 2010 - 1:27 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Cleveland (18-29) at New York (29-20), 1:05 p.m. EDT

It's hard to believe that Andy Pettitte hasn't beaten the Cleveland Indians at home since his second season in the majors.

Pettitte will face the Indians for the first time at the new Yankee Stadium on Monday when the New York Yankees try to capture a four-game series.

The veteran is 0-4 with a 6.50 ERA in his last six starts in the Bronx against the Indians, including one postseason outing. That's quite unusual since Pettitte (6-1, 2.62 ERA) is 105-47 in his career at home for New York, but his only home victory over Cleveland (18-30) came in 1996.

The left-hander hasn't fared well against the Indians' Austin Kearns (6 for 13) and Jhonny Peralta (5 for 13 with two homers).

The Yankees (30-20), though, have won eight of Pettitte's nine starts this year. He allowed two runs over eight innings Wednesday to earn a 3-2 victory over Minnesota.

This Cleveland team - which owns the second-worst record in the AL - doesn't figure to pose a major threat. In addition, No. 2 hitter Shin-Soo Choo is mired in a 0-for-17 slump while Peralta is 1 for 11 in this series.

Veteran slugger Travis Hafner remains the Indians' major threat, having reached base in 20 straight games and hitting .368 in that span.

The Indians, who learned earlier Sunday that they will be without outfielder Grady Sizemore (knee surgery) for at least six to eight weeks, blew a three-run lead in the seventh inning of a 7-3 loss. Derek Jeter singled in two runs and Mark Teixeira added a go-ahead, three-run homer to cap the Yankees' five-run rally.

Teixeira, who has been slumping through most of the season, has four RBIs in the last two games after going 10 straight games without one.

"I haven't worried about Tex one bit," right fielder Nick Swisher told the Yankees' official website. "All you've got to do is check the back of his baseball card and that's pretty much all I need to see. He's a guy that grinds, he battles, he works his tail off every single day."

Jeter's fourth straight multihit effort gave him 15 hits in 32 at-bats over his last seven games, raising his average from .267 to .298. He needs one double for 450 in his career and to move into sole possession of second place on the franchise's all-time list, ahead of Bernie Williams and behind only Lou Gehrig (534).

Jeter's double-play partner Robinson Cano is also hot, batting .455 with 14 RBIs during a 13-game hitting streak. Cano is 8 for 12 with seven RBIs in this series.

The Yankees will get their first look at Cleveland rookie Mitch Talbot (6-3, 3.73), who is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his last three road starts. The right-hander earned a 7-3 home victory over the Chicago White Sox last Tuesday, allowing two runs over seven innings.

Talbot's six wins lead all major-league rookies.

The Yankees are 20-17 on Memorial Day since 1971, when the holiday took its current place on the final Monday in May.