New York @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2013 ) NY Yankees 10, Boston 3

Alfonso Soriano has shown no sign of cooling off, and the New York Yankees are riding their new slugger back up the standings. Soriano matched a major-league record with 18 RBIs in the last four contests and will attempt to lead the Yankees to their seventh win in eight games when they visit the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The Red Sox are clinging to a one-game lead in the American League East over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Soriano went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, a stolen base and an outfield assist as New York earned a 10-3 victory in the series opener on Friday. Soriano is getting some help from Mark Reynolds, who made his Yankees debut on Friday with a homer and three RBIs after being claimed off waivers. Boston is dealing with a run-scoring drought and is trying to avoid its fourth straight setback.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Hiroki Kuroda (11-7, 2.33 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH John Lackey (7-10, 3.32)

Kuroda is making a late run at the AL Cy Young Award with seven straight quality starts. The Japanese hurler has held the opposition scoreless in five of those seven starts, with one of the exceptions coming when he yielded two runs in seven innings at Boston on July 20. Kuroda is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts at the Red Sox.

Lackey is enduring a five-start winless streak that began when he was reached four runs on a season high-tying 10 hits in a loss to the Yankees on July 20. The veteran Texan went seven innings at Kansas City on Sunday but permitted four runs on seven hits to absorb another loss. Lackey is 8-10 with a 4.73 ERA in 24 career starts against New York.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Yankees are 7 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the division and trail Oakland by six games in the wild-card race.

2. Boston has committed seven errors in its last three games.

3. Soriano is 3-for-30 with seven strikeouts against Lackey in his career.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 2, Yankees 1