Red Sox Try to Thwart Yankees’ AL East Title Dreams With Win

The Red Sox rode into the Bronx hoping, if nothing else, to inch closer to the American League wild card. Instead of punching their own tickets to the AL playoffs, though, they're now about to hand the AL East title over to their hated rivals.

When the Sox and Yankees take the field for Sunday's series finale, the Yankees will be looking for not only a sweep, but their 100th win of the season and the AL East crown to boot.

When and Where

1:05 p.m. ET (ESPN), September 27, 2009
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.

Records

Red Sox (91-63, 2nd place in AL East)
Yankees (99-56, 1st place in AL East)

Head to Head

The Red Sox began their season series with the Bronx Bombers at 8-0 — things have cooled off a bit for the Boston nine since that point. They've lost eight of their last nine, including all six at Yankee Stadium. They'll look to avoid the sweep in Sunday's finale.

Starting Lineups

Lineups will be posted as soon as they become available.

Starting Pitchers

RHP Paul Byrd (1-2, 6.04 ERA) vs. LHP Andy Pettitte (13-7, 4.15 ERA)

If Byrd wants to prove that he deserves a spot on the Red Sox' postseason roster this fall, he better hurry up. He's been dreadful in his last four starts, especially on the road, and his ERA crept back up over six with a five-run stinker at Kansas City on Tuesday. The Sox had hopes that Byrd would be a serviceable No. 5 starter for an injury-plagued team, and he's accomplishing that but little more.

As for Pettitte, he's been solid this season, but he's still working his way back from injury himself. Pettitte has battled shoulder fatigue a little bit over the past couple of months, and it forced him to miss a start last week. If he's healthy, he'll be a strong postseason starter for the October-bound Yankees; if not, manager Joe Girardi will have to rethink some things. This start will tell us a lot.

Stat Sheet

Red Sox
The Red Sox are 45-23 this season against AL East opponents.

Boston has a team on-base percentage of .352, second-best in the AL.

Paul Byrd is 3-5 against the Yankees in his career. The Yankees are hitting .284 against Byrd all-time.

Kevin Youkilis has a .953 OPS, second-best in the AL.

Jacoby Ellsbury leads the AL with 10 triples.

Jason Bay is third in the AL with 36 home runs.

Victor Martinez has 102 RBIs, sixth in the AL.

Dustin Pedroia has a .382 career on-base percentage against the Yankees. He has 19 doubles in 50 games.

Mike Lowell is 9-for-26 (.346) against Andy Pettitte in his career. He has five RBIs.

David Ortiz is 18-for-48 (.375) against Pettitte with a home run.

J.D. Drew has an .845 OPS on the road this season.

Jed Lowrie is hitting .158. He has zero RBIs since returning from injury this month.

Yankees
The Yankees are 54-23 this season at Yankee Stadium.

Andy Pettitte is 17-9 in his career against the Red Sox. He has a 3.76 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 208 1/3 innings.

Derek Jeter is hitting .330, third-best in the AL.

Alex Rodriguez is third in the AL with a .407 OBP.

Johnny Damon is third in the AL with 106 runs scored, tied with Jeter.

Mark Teixeira leads the AL with 332 total bases.

Hideki Matsui is a .294 career hitter against the Red Sox. He has 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 100 games.

Nick Swisher is 8-for-26 (.308) in his career against Paul Byrd. He has a double and two RBIs.

Black and Blue

Red Sox
Jon Lester was hit in the right leg by a Melky Cabrera line drive on Friday night. He is day-to-day with a quad contusion.

Junichi Tazawa has a mild left groin strain. He is out for the season.

Miguel Gonzalez has been on the 60-day disabled list since March 27 as he recovers from right elbow surgery.

Yankees
Jorge Posada was scratched from the Yankees' lineup for Saturday afternoon's game with a stiff neck. He is day-to-day.

Xavier Nady is out for the season as he recovers from surgery on his right elbow.

Chien-Ming Wang is also out for the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery.

This Date In Red Sox History

In 1926, the Red Sox lost their 17th game in a row, wrapping up one of the worst seasons in franchise history. The Red Sox finished 46-107 that season, dead last in the eight-team American League.

Overheard

"It's all right. It's still attached. So we're going in the right direction."
–Jon Lester, in The Boston Globe. Lester was hit in the leg by a Melky Cabrera line drive on Friday night, but he and the Red Sox appear confident that he will not miss a start.

Press Box

Red Sox
The Sox fell victim to CC Sabathia once again on Saturday.

Daisuke Matsuzaka gives the Sox hope.

Jon Lester is doing well.

Yankees
The Yanks are on the verge of an AL East title.

The worries have subsided in New York.

A Gold Glove for Robinson Cano?

MLB
The Cardinals won the Central.

The Dodgers have also made the NL playoffs.

Tim Lincecum will be a very rich man.

Outlook

The Red Sox could really use a win here. They can expect to see the Yankees win the AL East eventually, but they don't want to be watching from the visitors' dugout when it happens. They'll need Paul Byrd to put forth a strong effort if they want to dodge a sweep and a Yankee victory parade — that, or they'll need to see Andy Pettitte revert to the injured, inconsistent pitcher he was earlier this month. The Sox will take a win any way they can get one.