Red Sox Turn to Jon Lester to Avoid Series Sweep

The Red Sox will look to salvage the finale of a three-game series with the New York Yankees in a nationally televised contest Sunday night at Fenway Park.

The Sox have made their recent four-game winning streak a distant memory with two horrific efforts against the Yankees. New York has outscored Boston 24-6 in the first two games, pounding out 17 hits in Saturday's rain-soaked 14-3 win.

If Boston was looking for a silver lining on a cloud-filled afternoon, it could find one in Sunday's starter. Jon Lester has been electric over a span of three starts and could just be the stopper this team needs right now.

A.J. Burnett goes for the Yankees, winners of six in a row and tied in the loss column with Tampa Bay atop the American League East division.

WHEN AND WHERE

Yankees (21-8) vs. Red Sox (15-16)
Sunday, May 9, 8 p.m.
Fenway Park, Boston

HEAD TO HEAD

New York has won 13 of the last 15 meetings.

PITCHING MATCHUP

RHP A.J. Burnett (4-0, 1.99 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Lester (2-2, 3.93 ERA)

Through his first three starts, Lester had an 8.44 ERA. Three starts later he is perhaps the hottest pitcher in the American League.

Lester has given up just one run in 20 2/3 innings during the hot stretch, striking out 23 and yielding only 10 hits. His latest gem resulted in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

One of Lester's rough starts, however, came against the Yankees back on April 6. He has given up nine runs on 13 hits and six walks in 7 1/3 innings against New York over his last two starts.

Since laboring through five innings opposite Lester in the second game of the season, Burnett has gone 4-0 with a 1.51 ERA in five starts.

The lanky right-hander was signed by the Yankees in large part because of his success against the Sox. But he has pitched poorly at Fenway Park since joining New York, going 0-2 with an 11.72 ERA in four starts.

LINEUPS

STAT SHEET

Red Sox

• First baseman Kevin Youkilis has hit .455 (10-for-22) during his seven-game hitting streak.
• Outfielder Jonathan Van Every is the fifth Red Sox position player to make multiple pitching appearances after he threw one inning in Saturday night's loss.
• Outfielder Darnell McDonald on Saturday became the first Boston outfielder to record two assists in a game against the Yankees since Dwight Evans on May 20, 1976.

Yankees

• The Yankees have won nine of their first 10 series. It is the first time they have done so since 1939 and just the third time in franchise history.
• First baseman Mark Teixeira on Saturday joined Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig as the only two Yankees to hit three home runs in a game against the Red Sox.
• Catcher Francisco Cervelli had a career-high five RBIs on Saturday. He is the first Yankees catcher  to drive in that many runs in a game against the Red Sox since Hall of Famer Yogi Berra on July 3, 1957.

BLACK AND BLUE

Red Sox

• Left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury took a day off Friday as he continues to recover from rib/chest injuries. He was set to resume activity Saturday.
• Center fielder Mike Cameron, out with a sports hernia, may return to play in rehab games after the weekend, according to manager Terry Francona.
• Reliever Ramon Ramirez left Saturday's game with tightness in his right triceps muscle.
• Righty Boof Bonser allowed a run in three innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday.
• Infielder Jed Lowrie has gained four pounds and is combining baseball-related activities with strength and conditioning this week for the first time since he came down with mono in March. Francona said he could be playing games again in about four weeks.

Yankees

• Second baseman Robinson Cano left Friday's game after getting hit by a pitch on the left knee. He returned Saturday as a designated hitter.
• Designated hitter Nick Johnson was placed on the DL on Saturday with a nagging right wrist injury.
• Reliever Alfredo Aceves left Saturday's game with a stiff lower back.
• Center fielder Curtis Granderson is on the DL with a strained left groin. He is expected to miss the rest of the month.
• Catcher Jorge Posada has missed three straight games with a strained right calf. He remains day-to-day and may DH Sunday.
• Starting pitcher Andy Pettitte will miss his next start Tuesday in Detroit with left elbow inflammation.
• Reliever Chan Ho Park remains on the DL with a right hamstring injury.

OUTLOOK

If felt as if the Red Sox bottomed out when Tampa Bay swept them in four straight over Patriots' Day weekend. Then, the three-game sweep in Baltimore seemed even more damaging.

But a third straight loss Sunday night to the Yankees would represent a new low. It's up to Jon Lester to ensure that does not happen.

Many felt that Lester was the true ace of this staff coming into the season, despite the fact that Josh Beckett was given the nod on Opening Day. A clutch start Sunday would go a long way to establishing the lefty as the true No. 1.