Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2012 ) Boston 3, NY Yankees 4

The New York Yankees will head into the final day of the regular season with their fate in their own hands. The Yankees own a one-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East and can clinch the division by completing a three-game sweep of the rival Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Beating the Red Sox again would mean avoiding the possibility of a one-game playoff for the division title on Thursday.

Raul Ibanez played the hero on Tuesday, clubbing a pinch-hit two-run homer in the ninth to send the game to extra innings and winning it with an RBI single in the 12th. New York also can wrap up the top seed in the playoffs by winning Wednesday. The Red Sox are not laying down but don’t have the talent to match up. Dustin Pedroia is playing through a broken finger despite the team having already clinched its first last-place finish since 1992. The Yankees have taken 12 of the 17 meetings between the teams.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-6, 7.68 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Hiroki Kuroda (15-11, 3.34)

Matsuzaka will be making what is likely his final appearance in a Boston uniform. The hugely hyped right-hander ended up having two solid seasons and four injury-marred campaigns with the Red Sox after a posting fee and six-year contract that came out to more than $100 million. Matsuzaka has made four starts in September, going 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA. He last pitched at Tampa Bay on Sept. 19 and lasted only three innings, allowing five runs. He is 3-3 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 career starts against New York.

Kuroda came to the United States with far less hype than Matsuzaka but has proven to be a solid major leaguer. The right-hander will be making his final tuneup and is in line to be part of the postseason rotation. Kuroda allowed 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings at Toronto on Friday but limited the damage to two runs to pick up the win. He has made four starts against Boston this season, going 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 28 total innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Yankees closer Rafael Soriano needed 42 pitches to get through two innings on Tuesday - his most pitches since 2005.

2. Matsuzaka’s start pushes out Aaron Cook, who also likely would have been making his last appearance for Boston.

3. New York 2B Robinson Cano has multiple hits in eight straight games, batting .571 (20-for-35) in that span.