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Red Sox hope to close out series with a win vs. Yanks

Apr 13, 2008 - 1:41 PM NY Yankees (6-6) at Boston (6-6) 8:05 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) - It's always a battle when the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees meet, and the first two matchups of 2008 have been no exception.

The Red Sox will look to win the rubber game of the three-game series from the Yankees on Sunday.

New York took the first game between the bitter rivals on Friday night when Chien-Ming Wang yielded just two hits in a complete-game victory.

On Saturday, it was Boston's turn to put pitching on display as Josh Beckett was dominant at the start and Jonathan Papelbon was untouchable at the end. Manny Ramirez drove in three runs in the 4-3 victory and Papelbon waited through a 2-hour, 11 minute rain delay before striking out three of the four batters he faced to notch the save.

Boston will turn to the American League strikeout leader, Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0, 1.47 ERA), looking to clinch a series win.

The Japanese righthander has dominated his last two starts, combining to allow one run and six hits in 13 1/3 innings while striking out 16 and issuing four walks. His 22 strikeouts is six ahead of Seattle's Felix Hernandez for the AL lead.

Matsuzaka had mixed success in his first taste of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry last season, posting a 2-1 record with a 6.12 ERA in four starts.

New York will counter with youngster Phil Hughes (0-1, 5.00). The 21-year-old got knocked around in his last start, yielding three runs and six hits in three frames while walking four to take a loss at Kansas City.