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Yankees-Red Sox Preview

Jun 10, 2009 - 4:16 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

New York (34-23) at Boston (33-24), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Boston Red Sox haven't separated themselves as the team to beat in the AL East in large part because David Ortiz isn't living up to expectations.

Ortiz's play against the New York Yankees, however, is a big reason the Red Sox haven't lost to their archrivals and are tied with them atop the division.

Ortiz looks to help the Red Sox extend their longest undefeated start against the Yankees franchise in nearly a century as the teams continue a three-game series Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Ortiz is a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner as a designated hitter, but he's batting .198 with three home runs and 24 RBIs over the first two months of this season. Looking for answers for their slugger's slump, the Red Sox (34-24) had Ortiz's eyes checked earlier this week. His vision checked out "very well" during Monday's examination.

Despite Ortiz's struggles, he's fared much better against the Yankees (34-24). He's 7 for 23 (.304) with a home run, seven RBIs and four runs scored in six games against them.

Ortiz hit a two-run homer in a 7-0 win in the series opener Tuesday night as the Red Sox improved to 6-0 against the Yankees franchise for the first time since 1912. They beat the New York Highlanders 14 consecutive times to open that season, including the first-ever game at Fenway Park.

"There's no getting around how important he is to us," manager Terry Francona said of Ortiz, who's hit safely in seven straight games and homered in two of his last three. "When he does something like that, I think we feel better about ourselves."

The Yankees would likely feel better if they weren't limited to a season-low two hits while getting shut out for the first time Tuesday.

"They've taken it to us so far this year," former Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon said. "But we have 13 more, and hopefully we'll beat them sometime soon."

Ortiz is 16 for 36 (.444) with two homers and four doubles in his career against Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang (0-3, 14.46 ERA).

Wang returned from a month on the disabled list with weakness in his hips and delivered three solid relief outings before giving up five runs in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-6 win over Texas on Thursday.

Wang's first start since April 18 was also his best of the year, but it was still a long way from the kind of performance the Yankees have come to expect after Wang went 46-15 with a 3.74 ERA from 2006-08.

Wang said he felt OK on Thursday and was excited to get back into the rotation. Manager Joe Girardi also had good things to say about the right-hander's return.

"I thought he pitched better than his numbers indicated," Girardi said. "I'm not making excuses. I was happy with what I saw. I know people are going to say, 'Oh boy, he gave up five runs.'"

Wang is 6-5 with a 4.82 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. The Yankees have won five of his last six starts in the series.

Tim Wakefield (7-3, 4.50) will oppose Wang. The right-handed knuckleballer bounced back from one of his worst starts of the season by holding Detroit to three runs over 6 2-3 innings of a 6-3 road victory Thursday.

Wakefield is 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts at Fenway Park this year. He's 0-5 with a 7.56 ERA over his last seven home starts against the Yankees.