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Jun 17, 2010 - 2:13 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

New York (37-28) at Cleveland (25-39), 7:05 p.m. EDT

R.A. Dickey has been an unlikely star during the New York Mets' resurgence. Now, the knuckleballer is in position to match a team record - and move his club into first place.

Dickey looks to help the Mets climb atop the NL East as they go for a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

Recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on May 19, Dickey (4-0, 2.78 ERA) can match a club record for a starter by winning his first five decisions with the Mets, a mark shared by Bobby Ojeda (1986), Armando Reynoso (1997) and Kenny Rogers (1999).

More importantly, another win by the 35-year-old right-hander could push New York (37-28) into the top spot in the division.

The Mets beat Cleveland 8-4 on Wednesday for their 17th victory in 22 games, a surge that has vaulted them from last place to within one-half game of Atlanta.

Dickey continued his contributions to the run Friday, yielding one run while striking out a career-high eight in seven innings of a 5-1 win at Baltimore.

"I just kept trusting it," Dickey said of his knuckleball, which he claimed to throw 104 times compared to five fastballs.

His last game at Progressive Field, however, saw him give up three runs while failing to record an out in a relief appearance of an 8-1 loss with Minnesota on Aug. 5.

New York is 5-0 on its nine-game road trip, which concludes with a three-game Subway Series this weekend. It is the Mets' longest winning streak as a visitor since a six-game run from Aug. 12-17, 2008.

Hot hitting has spurred the road streak, as New York has batted .314 with eight homers and 34 runs during that span.

David Wright has paced the attack, going 10 for 23 with two homers and 12 RBIs over the five games. The third baseman has a .353 average with four homers and 22 RBIs in his last 22 contests.

"This is what we anticipated," said manager Jerry Manuel, whose club batted .233 while going 8-18 in its first 26 games away from Citi Field. "We're built on pitching and defense. If we stay hot with the bats, we'll be a really, really good team."

The Mets are thriving during interleague play, winning seven in a row to match the team record set from Aug. 30, 1997-June 6, 1998.

The Indians (25-39) are last in the AL Central, and will turn to Jake Westbrook (4-3, 4.62) to snap their three-game slide as he continues to put Tommy John surgery behind him.

The right-hander, making his first start against the Mets, has gone 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his last seven outings. Westbrook went 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA in his first six games as he continued to recover from ligament replacement surgery that cost him most of 2008 and all of last year.

Westbrook turned in another strong effort Friday, allowing two runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings of a 7-2 win over Washington.

"The consistency is there now," Acta told the team's official website. "Every five days, we feel like we can count on him."