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Red Sox-Yankees Preview

May 4, 2009 - 3:58 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Boston (15-9) at New York (13-11), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Boston Red Sox opened the original Yankee Stadium with a 4-1 loss on April 18, 1923 - an outcome that would become the norm as they went on to finish nearly 200 games below .500 against the New York Yankees there.

They're hoping their first game at the new ballpark in the Bronx on Monday night will provide a better omen.

The Red Sox's initial visit to the new Yankee Stadium will be a two-game series, and they'll be looking to extend their winning streak against their archrivals to five after sweeping the Yankees last month in Boston.

The Red Sox finished 285-484 in the regular season at the first Yankee Stadium, and although they did finally break through and clinch the 2004 AL pennant there, they likely didn't shed any tears when the stadium was closed.

The new building has seen a spike in offense, with the Yankees and their opponents combining to hit 31 home runs and average 13.9 runs in the first nine games there.

The stadium will also provide a new feel to the sport's most storied rivalry, which made headlines at the stadium even before the building was completed. A construction worker - and Red Sox fan - hoped to jinx New York by burying a David Ortiz jersey in the concrete, but the Yankees ordered it dug up.

Ortiz, ironically, enters this series looking for his first homer of 2009. He's 0-for-11 in his last four games and his average has plummeted to .208, but he's hoping the new stadium will help him get untracked.

"I can't wait to get there," Ortiz told the Red Sox's official Web site. "... It seems like it's going to be another hitting park, from what I see. I'm not mad about that."

Other than a 10-run outburst Saturday, Boston (15-10) struggled offensively at Tampa and lost three of four to the reigning AL champions.

The bottom four hitters in the order went 0-for-14 during Sunday's 5-3 loss, and the Red Sox were outscored 19-2 in the first two games of the series.

"I think everyone is over this. We have 140-something games left," second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "I don't think anybody's hitting the panic button."

Still playing without Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees (13-11) appear to have solved some of their early problems, scoring 36 runs during a four-game winning streak before losing 8-4 to Los Angeles on Saturday. The finale of the four-game series Sunday was postponed due to rain.

Right-hander Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00 ERA) was set to start that game, and will open the series against the Red Sox instead. Filling the rotation spot of the struggling Chien-Ming Wang, Hughes was impressive in his season debut Tuesday, allowing two hits in six innings of an 11-0 win in Detroit.

"He looked really good," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He had his legs under him tonight."

Hughes struggled in his lone appearance against the Red Sox, allowing seven runs in two-plus innings of New York's 8-5 loss at Fenway Park on April 13, 2008.

Opposing Hughes will be Jon Lester, who dominated New York last year. He was 2-0 with a 1.19 ERA in three starts versus the Yankees and shut them out in the Bronx on July 3.

Lester threw six innings of two-run ball in his team's 5-4, 11-inning win over New York on April 24, a game in which Boston's Jason Bay hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera to tie the score. A Kevin Youkilis homer won it in the 11th.

The Red Sox went on to sweep New York, but Lester (1-2, 5.40) didn't carry his success into his next start. He gave up five runs in six innings of Boston's 6-5 win at Cleveland on Wednesday.