Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 23, 2011 ) Boston 0, NY Yankees 0

THE STORY: The Boston Red Sox used to hold a patent on stunning late-season collapses, and they appear intent on penning a noteworthy sequel as they visit the New York Yankees for a three-game series that begins Saturday after the teams were rained out Friday. The spectacular September swoon, which has been built on 16 losses in 21 games, has sliced a once-healthy nine-game lead to 2 1/2 over Tampa Bay in the American League wild-card race. Boston’s flameout allowed the rival Yankees to coast to the AL East title, and now it’s a question of how much effort New York wants to exert the rest of the season while preparing for the postseason.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Jon Lester (15-8, 3.15 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Freddy Garcia (11-8, 3.77 ERA).

Lester is just as responsible as anyone for Boston's staggering slump. He has lost his last two starts to Tampa Bay, putting the Red Sox in 3-0 and 2-0 holes in the first inning. He is averaging one walk per two innings in his last nine starts and has failed to pitch beyond six innings five times in that stretch. He is 8-2 lifetime against New York but hasn't gone past six innings in four starts this year.

Garcia has struggled mightily in three September starts, allowing 15 runs and 21 hits in 12 1/3 innings. He has allowed two home runs in each of his last three outings after having been taken deep only once in his previous 11 starts. He limited the Red Sox to one run on five hits in five innings Aug. 7, but was hit hard in two earlier starts against the Red Sox this season.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (88-68): Boston has held the opposition to three runs or less only once in the last 15 games, going 3-12 and allowing a ghastly total of 103 runs in that span. In two of the three victories during that stretch, the Red Sox put up 18 runs. Boston blew leads in its last two losses against Baltimore, including a three-run cushion in Wednesday’s 6-4 defeat. Adrian Gonzalez had four consecutive multi-hit games against the Orioles, going 10-for-16 with five RBIs to boost his major league-leading average to .341. Jacoby Ellsbury is riding a seven-game hitting streak.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (95-61): New York was trampled 15-8 by Tampa Bay on Thursday night after clinching the AL East title one night earlier. It marked the 12 division title in 16 years for the Yankees, who are in the postseason for the 16th time in the last 17 years. Curtis Granderson leads the majors in RBIs (119) and is in contention for the home run title, trailing Toronto’s Jose Bautista (42) by one. Cano is tied with Boston’s Gonzalez with 116 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez needs one home run to tie Ken Griffey Jr. (630) for fifth place on the all-time list, and Derek Jeter (.297) is within reach of his 12th .300 season. New York's magic number to clinch the best record in the American League is two over Detroit and Texas.

FINAL PITCH: Boston has won 11 of 15 meetings against the Yankees this season, but the Red Sox are 6-17 in their last 23 against AL East foes. That includes dropping two of three to New York as August turned into September.