BOSTON RED SOX (35-26)

at NEW YORK YANKEES (33-26)

First Pitch: Thursday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: New York -130, Boston +120, Total: 8

The Red Sox will go for their second three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in less than a month on Thursday, when they take on New York in the final game of their three-game series. Baseball scores.

Boston improved to 5-0 at Yankee Stadium and 7-1 overall against the Yankees this season with its 11-6 win on Wednesday. Josh Beckett (4-2, 2.01 ERA) will get the start for the Sox, who will look to win their sixth straight game after suffering through a four-game losing streak. Beckett has rebounded wonderfully after a disastrous 2010 in which he posted a career-high 5.78 ERA. He has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his 12 starts this season, and only once has he surrendered more than three runs. Beckett is 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA over his past seven starts. He appeared headed to another victory Saturday after allowing three runs and four hits in six innings, but the bullpen surrendered four runs in the ninth in a game Boston won in 14 innings.

This is the third time this season and the second time at Yankee Stadium, that Beckett will go up against CC Sabathia. Beckett won the first two meetings, and has yet to allow a run in his 14 IP against the bombers this season. He has a WHIP of 0.64 in those two starts. That is a stark difference for Beckett compared to how he fared against the Yankees in 2010, when he went 1-2 with a 10.04 ERA and 2.04 WHIP in his five starts. Baseball odds.

CC Sabathia (7-3, 2.80 ERA) will take the mound for New York, looking to win his fifth straight start on Thursday. Sabathia is 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA and 0.98 WHIP during his win streak. But Sabathia has lost both of his starts this season to Boston, yielding seven runs and 16 hits over 12.1 innings. The Red Sox are 6-1 in games when Beckett faces Sabathia, going back to his days with Cleveland. This includes Sabathia’s two losses in the 2007 ALCS. Overall, Sabathia is 6-9 (team is 7-12) with a 4.20 ERA in his 19 career starts against the Red Sox, including postseason.

The Yankees are hitting just .227 with a .314 OBP in eight games against the Red Sox this season, which includes Mark Teixeira’s .138 BA (4-for-29, 10 K), Derek Jeter’s .194 BA (7-for-36, 6 K) and Alex Rodriguez hitting just .207 (6-for-29, 9 K). For Boston, David Ortiz has found the fountain of middle-age, as he is hitting .467 (14-for-30) with 4 HR and 10 RBI in his past eight games. Given Beckett’s dominance against the Yankees this season, I like Boston to continue its win streak and sweep New York.

The FoxSheets provide this four-star trend, which also expects the Red Sox to win Thursday.

BOSTON is 17-2 (89.5%, +14.7 Units) against the money line vs. teams outscoring opponents by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season this season. The average score was BOSTON 6.5, OPPONENT 2.7 – (Rating = 4*). Baseball spreads.

The FoxSheets really like the Over in this apparent pitchers’ duel as well.

N.Y. YANKEES are 18-2 OVER (90.0%, +16.0 Units) in home games vs. a starting pitcher whose gives up 5.5 or less hits/start over the last 2 seasons. The average score was N.Y. YANKEES 5.8, OPPONENT 6.0 – (Rating = 5*).