Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 30, 2018 ) Boston 11, NY Yankees 0

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees took turns bludgeoning each other over the first two games of their American League East showdown, leaving the division race as tight as ever. One team will leave with the upper hand in the season series when the Yankees host the Red Sox on Sunday for the rubber match of their three-game series.

New York belted four home runs in an 8-1 victory in the series opener on Friday but watched Rafael Devers become the youngest player to hit a grand slam in the history of the rivalry when he went deep in the first inning on Saturday to spark the Red Sox to an 11-0 win. Boston heads into Sunday's finale with a one-game lead in the AL East after ace Chris Sale registered 11 strikeouts, but the season series is knotted at four wins apiece. The Yankees, who fell to 30-12 at home, will continue their homestand with a three-game interleague series against Atlanta beginning on Monday before heading into the All-Star break on an 11-game road trip. New York sends ace Luis Severino to the mound in Sunday's rubber match while the Red Sox counter with David Price.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (9-5, 3.66 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Luis Severino (12-2, 2.10)

Price has been showing off his Cy Young form of late and is 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA over his last nine starts, striking out 57 batters in 56 1/3 innings over that span. The Vanderbilt product punched out seven over six frames against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, yielding one run and five hits to pick up the win. Price was reached for four runs in just one inning against New York before leaving with numbness in his throwing hand on April 11.

Severino has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last 14 starts and is coming off a dominating effort at Philadelphia on Tuesday in which he struck out nine in seven scoreless innings. The Dominican leads the AL in wins and ERA and is up to 132 strikeouts in 111 2/3 frames. Severino registered 11 strikeouts while yielding two runs over six innings at home against Boston on May 8 but did not factor in the decision.

WALK-OFFS

1. Yankees RF Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Saturday and has fanned at least once in each of his last 12 games.

2. Red Sox OF-DH J.D. Martinez has recorded multiple hits in six of his last nine games.

3. New York RHP Adam Warren worked 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief on Saturday for his ninth straight scoreless appearance.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 3, Yankees 2