(Sports Network) - Like the Boston Red Sox, Jon Lester has struggled to a
below .500 record this season.
This afternoon, the left-hander aims to win back-to-back starts for the first
time since mid-May when a three-game series resumes against the New York
Yankees.
Lester snapped his career-long, single-season winless streak at seven games
with a 14-1 victory at Cleveland Sunday. He allowed one run on three hits and
struck out a season-high 12 batters over six innings.
The last time Lester won consecutive starts was May 14 and 19 against the
Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively.
Lester has fashioned an 8-4 record with a 3.98 ERA in 18 starts against the
Yankees. That includes a 6-2 mark in 11 career starts in the Bronx. Lester is
averaging 9.82 strikeouts per nine innings in his career against the Yankees,
his highest rate versus any American League club.
Yankees right-hander David Phelps pitched effectively in his fourth major
league start on Monday by yielding six hits and a pair of runs over five
innings in an 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers. He stepped in for CC Sabathia,
who was supposed to start Monday, but was placed on the 15-day disabled list
with a sore left elbow.
This will be Phelps' third appearance and first career start versus Boston.
Nick Swisher continued his hot streak last night by homering from both sides
of the plate, and the Yankees received seven strong innings from Phil Hughes
in a 6-4 victory.
Hughes (12-10) allowed four hits and four unearned runs to snap a two-start
losing streak.
"I thought he really pitched tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He
threw more change-ups tonight than he's probably done in four or five starts
combined. He threw them to right-handers, left-handers and that really kept
them off balance."
Rafael Soriano retired the side in order in the ninth inning for his 30th
save.
Swisher has four homers in his past five games and has at least one run and
one RBI in his last six, extending a career-high. It's the longest such
streak by a Yankee since Alex Rodriguez had a six-game stretch four years ago.
The only Yankee with a longer such streak since 1957 was Don Mattingly (nine
straight from July 7-18, 1987).
Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin and Derek Jeter also went deep for the AL
East leaders, who won for the eighth time in 10 games. Jayson Nix knocked in
the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Franklin Morales (3-4) was touched for six hits, including four homers, and
five runs over 5 1/3 innings on a soggy night.
"I tried to throw my pitches. When you miss, that's going to happen," Morales
said.
The Yankees have won seven of 10 from the Red Sox this season.
The Sports Network