Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 20, 2014 ) NY Yankees 3, Boston 2

Jacoby Ellsbury deserves a lot of credit for two World Series championships he earned while playing center field for the Boston Red Sox. But when Ellsbury takes the field against his former team for the start of a four-game series Thursday, it will be as a member of the rival New York Yankees. The star center fielder left the Red Sox as a free agent over the winter and signed a seven-year, $153 million contract with the Yankees while Boston patched the position.

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Grady Sizemore provided strong moments while sharing time in center field for the Red Sox, and Bradley is riding a hot streak with five hits, four RBIs and four runs scored in the last three games. Boston salvaged the rubber match of a three-game series with the Texas Rangers when David Ortiz blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning Wednesday, improving the team to 4-5. The Yankees are off to the same 4-5 start and dropped their first home series Wednesday when the Baltimore Orioles pulled off a 5-4 win.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NESN (Boston), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Clay Buchholz (0-0, 12.46 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Michael Pineda (0-1, 1.50)

Buchholz nearly matched his total of one loss from last season before being bailed out by the offense in his first start Saturday. The 29-year-old was pounded for six runs on 13 hits in 4 1/3 innings by the Milwaukee Brewers and dealt with a fastball that topped out around 90 miles per hour. Buchholz went 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA and a .167 batting average against in three starts against New York in 2013.

Pineda made his first major-league start in 31 months Saturday and looked like he never left, striking out five and not walking a batter while allowing one run and five hits in six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 25-year-old Dominican Republic native missed two full seasons while recovering from shoulder surgery but hit 95 with his fastball and retired 13 of the final 14 he faced. Pineda has only faced four hitters that figure to be in Boston’s lineup Thursday, and David Ortiz, Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia and A.J. Pierzynski are a combined 2-for-10 off him.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Red Sox took 13 of 19 from the Yankees last season, including seven of 10 on the road.

2. Ellsbury is batting .364 for his new team after an 0-for-4 night Wednesday.

3. Boston grounded into 11 double plays in the three-game series against Texas.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 4, Yankees 3