New York @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2013 ) NY Yankees 1, Boston 5
The Boston Red Sox are on a seemingly unstoppable surge toward clinching a playoff berth. The New York Yankees, who are the latest team to step into the middle of that wave, hope to avoid a sweep when they visit Boston for the finale of a three-game set on Sunday. Winners of 16 of their last 20 games, the Red Sox are aiming to take six of seven from the rival Yankees in the last 10 days.
Boston (91-59) owns the best record in baseball and a commanding lead in the American League East while New York struggles to make up ground in the wild-card race. The Yankees took three in a row from the Baltimore Orioles to jump within a game of the final wild-card slot earlier this week but had the bullpen let them down in Friday’s 8-4 setback and received another sub-par effort from ace CC Sabathia in a 5-1 loss on Saturday. New York could benefit from a weak schedule the rest of the way, with series against Houston, San Francisco and Toronto still to come.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Ivan Nova (8-4, 3.17 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Clay Buchholz (10-0, 1.61)
Nova was removed from his last start with triceps tightness but came through a bullpen session without a problem and should be ready for Sunday. The 26-year-old Dominican is coming off two mediocre outings, including a four-inning stint against Boston on Sept. 5 in which he allowed three runs on five hits. Nova is 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA in seven career games against the Red Sox.
Buchholz returned from a three-month absence at Tampa Bay on Tuesday and picked up right where he left off, striking out six in five scoreless innings against Tampa Bay. The 29-year-old was limited to 74 pitches and will likely be held below 100 again as he works back to full strength. Buchholz limited New York to two hits in five scoreless innings on June 2 and limited the Yankees to one run in seven frames on April 3.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York LF Alfonso Soriano (sprained right thumb) was scratched from Saturday’s lineup and is day-to-day.
2. Boston 1B Mike Napoli is 9-for-14 with seven runs scored in his last four starts against the Yankees.
3. New York 3B Alex Rodriguez (hamstring) served as the DH in the last four games - and could remain in that spot until at least Tuesday in Toronto.
PREDICTION: Red Sox 3, Yankees 1