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May 5, 2009 - 7:05 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Boston (16-10) at New York (13-12), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Josh Beckett had success pitching at the old Yankee Stadium. The Boston Red Sox hope the same holds true for him at their archrivals' new home.

The right-hander looks to avoid a third straight rough start Tuesday night while trying to help the Red Sox remain perfect against New York this season in the finale of a two-game set.

Beckett (2-2. 7.22 ERA) was 4-2 despite a 5.66 ERA in seven regular season starts at the old Yankee Stadium, and pitched perhaps the best game of his career there during the 2003 World Series. His five-hitter in Game 6 clinched the championship for Florida.

Beckett won both of his starts in the Bronx in 2008, posting a 3.86 ERA, and will be trying to help Boston (16-10) improve to 5-0 against New York in 2009.

The Red Sox rallied to beat the Yankees 16-11 on April 25 at Fenway Park after Beckett allowed eight runs and 10 hits over five innings.

He wasn't much better in his last start, giving up seven runs and 10 hits while striking out eight in 4 2-3 innings of a 13-0 loss at Tampa on Thursday.

"It's frustrating. It's a lot of things," said Beckett, 7-4 with a 5.90 ERA in 13 regular-season starts against New York (13-12). "(I'll) just have to make adjustments."

He'll look to do so against a Yankees team that lost its second straight Monday night, 6-4 to Boston in a game delayed 2 hours, 17 minutes by rain.

Slumping David Ortiz had a pair of doubles and an RBI to raise his average to .222 for the Red Sox, who had lost four of six entering the series.

"I haven't ever been in this kind of funk," said Ortiz, who has reached the 20-homer mark in each of his last seven seasons but has none in 2009. "I'll take this like something the baseball gods want to teach me."

Jason Bay and Mike Lowell homered for Boston, which has outscored New York 31-20 in 2009.

Bay is 3-for-5 and Lowell 4-for-10 with a home run against Tuesday's scheduled starter Joba Chamberlain (1-0, 3.13).

The right-hander allowed one run and three hits while striking out six in seven innings of an 8-6 victory at Detroit on Wednesday.

Chamberlain is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three starts versus Boston. He allowed one earned run in 5 1-3 innings of the Yankees' 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Red Sox on April 24.

Mark Teixeira homered from each side of the plate Monday for the Yankees. In his first season with New York, Teixeira has five homers and 12 RBIs, but is batting .195. He's 1-for-9 with three strikeouts against Beckett.

New York will be without catcher Jorge Posada after he suffered a hamstring injury Monday.

"I'm not sure how bad it's going to be, but he won't be playing (Tuesday), I'll tell you that," manager Joe Girardi said of Posada, who's 7-for-16 with two homers and six RBIs during a five-game hitting streak.

The teams combined for five home runs Monday, raising the total at the new stadium to 36 - a record for the first 10 games at a major league park.