New York @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2011 ) NY Yankees 5, Boston 9

THE STORY: The New York Yankees may lead the major leagues in home runs, but it was the Red Sox who flexed their muscles in a 9-5 victory Wednesday to set up the rubber game of the series Thursday night in Boston. The Red Sox launched three two-run homers to open a 1 1/2-game lead over the Yankees atop the American League East. The Red Sox also improved to 11-3 on the season against their bitter rivals. A.J. Burnett could be pitching to keep his spot in New York’s starting rotation when he takes the mound against Boston lefthander Jon Lester.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH A.J. Burnett (9-11, 5.31 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Jon Lester (14-6, 3.09).

Burnett has to hope that flipping the calendar can reverse his spiral. He has been shelled in back-to-back losses to drop to 1-10 in 16 August starts since joining the Yankees in 2009. The 34-year-old righthander is 5-4 in 16 lifetime starts against Boston. However, since signing with the Yankees, he has made six starts at Fenway Park and watched the Red Sox amass a staggering 57 runs. David Ortiz has four homers off him in 41 at-bats. Lester has won his three straight starts, allowing three hits in each and a total of four runs. He has been prone to bouts of wildness, walking at least four batters in three of his last five outings. Lester is 8-2 in 15 career starts against the Yankees, although he was on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision Aug. 5. Derek Jeter is batting .333 (15-for-45) but Mark Teixeira is 6-for-29 with 12 strikeouts against him.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (83-52): Boston beat the Yankees at their own game, getting two-run homers from David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Varitek. Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 14 games, during which he has seven homers and 16 RBIs. He has boosted his batting average from .286 to .313 in that span. Since July 6, Ellsbury has hit 15 of his 24 homers, driven in 42 runs and hit safely in 41 of 47 games. Varitek extended his hitting streak to six games and reached 10 homers for the 11th time in his career. Closer Jonathan Papelbon has not allowed a run in 17 consecutive appearances.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (81-53): Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira, who have combined for 73 homers and 207 RBIs, are 0-for-13 in the series. Alex Rodriguez missed his fourth straight game with a thumb injury. Eric Chavez had a run-scoring double, giving him three hits and three RBIs in the series. Robinson Cano also had an RBI double and has hit in 21 of his last 22 games. Derek Jeter had a pair of hits to move ahead of Craig Biggio and into 20th all-time with 3,061. Brett Gardner is mired in a 4-for-37 slump over the last nine games. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit or RBI in that span.

FINAL PITCH: Catcher Jesus Montero, one of New York's most ballyhooed prospects, could be promoted from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in time to be at Fenway Park for Thursday's game. Rehabbing Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew also hoped to be back at Fenway on Thursday, but he suffered a sprained middle finger on his right hand Tuesday.