Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2016 ) NY Yankees 4, Boston 5

The Boston Red Sox have won 11 in a row and are on the verge of clinching the American League East title as the rival New York Yankees finally begin to show some fight after slipping out of the race. David Ortiz begins his final series at Yankee Stadium when the Red Sox kick off a three-game set at New York on Tuesday.

The most impressive thing about Boston's winning streak has been the pitching, which has gone from being the club's Achilles heel to a point of strength. The Red Sox recorded 23 strikeouts on Sunday - 21 in the first nine innings - along with a record 11 in a row during a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay that marked the sixth time in the last seven games that the staff held the opposition to three or fewer runs. That winning streak began with a four-game home sweep of the Yankees that knocked them out of contention for the AL East crown, and New York has dropped 11 of its last 15 overall to fall out of the wild card race as well. The Yankees offense totaled three runs during a four-game slide but broke out late in a 7-5 win over Toronto on Monday that included a pair of benches-clearing incidents and multiple ejections.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN2, NESN (Boston), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (17-8, 3.91 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Luis Cessa (4-3, 4.30)

Price is set to make two starts this week as he tunes up for the playoffs, where he will likely start Game 2 of the Division Series after Rick Porcello goes in Game 1. The former Cy Young Award winner has not lost since Aug. 7 and allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his last nine starts. The only blemish in that span came against the Yankees on Sept. 17 at home, when Price was knocked around for five runs on nine hits in six innings without factoring in the decision.

Cessa has been solid since joining the rotation and is keeping himself in the team's plans for 2017. The 24-year-old has not found his way into the win column in any of his last five starts and absorbed the loss in the last three despite a quality start at Tampa Bay in a 2-0 loss on Thursday. Cessa went five innings at Boston on Sept. 16 and suffered the loss while yielding three runs on six hits.

WALK-OFFS

1. Ortiz is batting .307 with 53 home runs and 171 RBIs in 240 career regular-season games against the Yankees.

2. Yankees rookie C Gary Sanchez is 0-for-12 with five strikeouts in the last three games and is homerless in five straight.

3. Boston 1B Hanley Ramirez went 9-for-16 with four home runs in the four-game set against New York from Sept. 15-18.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 6, Yankees 2