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AL East supremacy on the line in the Bronx

Jun 8, 2011 - 2:40 PM (Sports Network) - First place in the American League East will be at stake when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox resume the latest edition of baseball's fiercest rivalry tonight at Yankee Stadium.

Boston moved into a virtual tie with New York for the division's top spot following Tuesday's 6-4 triumph in the opener of this three-game series, the Red Sox' sixth victory in seven meetings with the Bronx Bombers in 2011.

The Red Sox scored three first-inning runs off Yankees starter Freddy Garcia, with leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury igniting the outburst by homering on the game's fifth pitch. Adrian Gonzalez added an RBI triple later in the frame, while David Ortiz cracked a two-run homer in the fifth that staked Boston to a 6-1 advantage.

Garcia was yanked by Yankees manager Joe Girardi after just 1 1/3 innings, with the veteran allowing four runs on four hits and walking three batters before exiting.

Red Sox starter Jon Lester lasted six innings to improve to 8-2 on the season, surrendering three runs on eight hits before turning the game over to the Boston bullpen. Jonathan Papelbon gave up a run in the ninth, but held on to register his 200th career save.

"Just try to keep these guys back in the dugout as quickly as possible," said Lester of his approach. "I didn't do a great job of that, but with their lineup you have to do it as quick as you can."

Lester was facing a New York lineup that didn't have first baseman Mark Teixeira for most of the night, as the switch-hitting slugger was hit on the right knee by a Lester pitch in the first inning. Though x-rays revealed only a contusion, he's not expected to play tonight.

"In my mind I'm going to try to play," said Teixeira afterward. "Just get a lot of treatment, get it moving. Hopefully a good night's rest will keep the pain down, keep the swelling down."

Jorge Posada replaced Teixeira and went 3-for-3 with an RBI single, while Nick Swisher had a two-run double for the Yankees in a losing cause.

Derek Jeter collected two hits in Tuesday's tilt, leaving the Yankees shortstop now 12 shy of 3,000 for his career.

The win was the fourth in a row for Boston, as well as the club's seventh in its last eight trips to Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox swept a three-game series from New York in the Bronx back in May.

Boston has also had its share of recent success against A.J. Burnett, who'll be toeing the rubber for the Yankees tonight. The high-priced right-hander has encountered nothing but trouble against the Red Sox since coming to New York as a free agent in 2009, having amassed an 0-3 record with an ugly 8.25 earned run average in seven starts in this series as a member of the pinstripes.

In three meetings with Boston last season, Burnett was rocked for 17 runs (13 earned) and 22 hits over a combined 15 1/3 innings and received a loss and two no-decisions.

Those brutal numbers are in stark contrast to Burnett's track record against the Red Sox prior to joining the Yankees. He had never lost to Boston in eight starts during his previous tenures with Florida and Toronto, compiling a 5-0 mark with a solid 2.57 ERA in those games.

Burnett does come into this matchup with some momentum, though, after tossing seven sharp innings to defeat Oakland a week ago in his last start. He held the Athletics to two runs and just three hits and improved to 6-3 on the season.

The 34-year-old has also been very good at home this year, having registered a 5-1 record and a 3.63 ERA in seven 2011 trips to the Yankee Stadium mound.

New York will be taking its swings off a very familiar foe tonight, with longtime Red Sox member Tim Wakefield set to make his 35th career start and 57th lifetime appearance against the Yankees. The versatile knuckleballer is 11-17 with a 4.90 ERA all-time versus the Bronx Bombers.

Wakefield has alternated between the rotation and the bullpen this season and was slated to return to a relief role when the Red Sox activated John Lackey from the disabled list over the weekend. However, he'll be needed to make a spot start tonight after the team decided to push Clay Buchholz back a few days to rest an injured back.

The 44-year-old Wakefield last pitched on June 1 and received a no-decision against the White Sox after allowing four runs over six innings. He had yielded only three runs over a combined 13 2/3 innings in consecutive victories over the Cubs and Detroit prior to that start.