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Yankees seek season-high fourth straight win

May 6, 2008 - 12:13 PM Cleveland (14-17) at NY Yankees (17-16) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) - Two offensive powerhouses a season ago, the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees have found similar production tough to come by in 2008.

The Yankees try for their season-high fourth straight win on Tuesday when they begin a three-game set with Cleveland at Yankee Stadium.

Last season, New York led the majors in runs scored for the second straight season with 968 while Cleveland finished in eighth place with 811.

Both offenses have fallen off the pace a bit in 2008, with the Yankees in the middle of the pack and the Indians in the bottom third of the league in the category.

New York's saving grace lately though has been its pitching staff - the Yankees' starters posted all three wins with a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings in their three-game home sweep of the Mariners over the weekend.

To continue that string, New York will need a better start from Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.93 ERA), who will try to avoid losing three straight starts for the first time since May 2005, when he was with the Houston Astros.

The lefthander allowed three runs and seven hits over six frames in a 6-2 loss to Detroit on Wednesday.

He will be opposed by Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.60), who the Indians hope can help halt a stretch in which the team has lost five of their last seven contests.

The sinkerballer didn't factor into the decision in last Tuesday's 7-2 loss to Seattle, permitting two runs - one earned - and eight hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Carmona will be facing the Yankees for the first time since dueling with Pettitte in Game Two of the American League Division Series - a game in which neither starter factored into the decision.