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Rivalry continues as Yankees visit the Red Sox

Sep 14, 2007 - 1:17 PM NY Yankees (83-63) at Boston (89-58) 7:05 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox will still be in first place on Monday - they just aren't sure how big their lead will be.

The first-place Red Sox host their bitter rivals, the second-place New York Yankees, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Boston enters the series carrying a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League East Division after taking two of three games from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays earlier in the week.

The Yankees have been the hottest team in baseball since the All-Star break, going 40-20 to narrow a deficit that was as large as 14 1/2 games in late May.

This series is likely just about playoff positions, as New York owns a 3 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers (80-67) in the wild card race.

The Red Sox will send struggling rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-12, 4.44 ERA) to the mound on Friday. The Japanese righthander seems to have hit a wall in his first season in America, going 1-4 with a 9.72 ERA over his last five starts.

The 27-year-old Matsuzaka has never thrown close to 200 innings in a season and pitched out of a six-man rotation during a 135-game season in Japan the last several years.

The Yankees counter with veteran Andy Pettitte (13-8, 3.78), who is no stranger to meaningful games in September. The 35-year-old lefthander has appeared in the postseason 10 times during his 13-year career.

Pettitte is 9-2 with a 3.14 ERA over his last 12 starts and owns a career 15-6 mark with a 3.32 ERA in 28 career games - 26 starts - against Boston.

The Yankees dropped a 2-1 decision Thursday to the Toronto Blue Jays, ending their seven-game winning streak.

New York has won seven of its last nine meetings with Boston and is 8-7 overall against the Red Sox this season. The Yankees swept a three-game series from the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium just over two weeks ago - the last time the rivals squared off.