Sunday Night Baseball Preview: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees

The Boston Red Sox (37-44) and New York Yankees (41-38) will continue an American League East series Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees

New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter has performed at a high level against the Boston Red Sox in his final season

Boston has alternated wins and losses over its last four games, as it comes off a 2-1 victory over New York as +136 road underdogs Saturday, while going UNDER the betting total for the second consecutive contest. The Red Sox are 3-6 during this season-long-tying 10-game road trip that ends tonight, while they’ve dropped six of nine overall meetings against the Bronx Bombers in 2014. Boston is 14-21 versus division opponents, with the UNDER going 20-15 in that situation.

Red Sox starting pitcher John Lackey (8-5, 3.45 ERA) had his personal two-game winning streak snapped last time out, as he suffered a 12-3 road defeat to the Seattle Mariners—surrendering seven runs and seven hits over 3.2 innings of work. The right-hander is 3-3 with a 4.37 ERA in seven road appearances, with opposing hitters batting .267 against him. Lackey has allowed 13 runs and 18 hits in 11.1 frames of action in splitting his last two trips to the mound in the Bronx.

New York has split its last 10 affairs, while there’s been no edge in regards to the betting total (5-5 Over/Under) in that span. The Yankees are certainly happy with their performance against their hated rivals this season, considering they went 6-13 in 19 meetings a year ago. Shortstop Derek Jeter is one of the main players to handicap in this matchup, as he’s 10 for 28 (.357) with five RBIs versus the Red Sox in his final season in pinstripes. New York is 6-2 at home with a money line of -100 to -125.

Yankees starting pitcher Chase Whitley (3-1, 4.07 ERA) is one of 17 players to make his debut with the franchise this season, while he suffered his first professional loss versus the Toronto Blue Jays last Monday. It’s important to point out that the club is 24-12 in games started by rookie pitchers this season, but that includes a mediocre 9-9 mark when playing at this venue.