Yanks Trying To Avoid Sweep In Mo's Last Game At Fenway

After tonight, Mariano Rivera will never play another game at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. Rivera enters Sunday night with 58 save against the Sox, the most for any pitcher vs any franchise.

The Red Sox will be honoring Mariano before the game tonight, and the question on everybody's mind is what the Sox plan on giving Rivera as a retirement gift. From beach cruisers to broken bat rocking chairs, Mo's got it all, and tonight's gift might be something special.

To the game, the Yankees come into tonight's contest having lost the first two games of the series, including any disappointing start by CC Sabathia in Saturday's 5-1 loss. Sabathia gave up five runs on nine hits in six innings, continuing his downward spiral in 2013.

"It's very frustrating because everyone keeps telling me I'm close,'' Sabathia said. ”But I don't see it. I want results. I know the team wants results. I know the fans want results. It's just tough not being able to deliver.''

Tonight's Lineup at Boston:

Granderson CF
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Overbay 1B
Reynolds 3B
Ichiro RF
Ryan SS
Stewart C
Nova RHP

Pitching Preview:

While Sabathia continues to struggle on the mound -- along with Hiroki Kuroda, who's been a shell of what he was leading up mid-August when he's started to fall off the wagon since then -- Ivan Nova takes the mound tonight, needing to pitch like the ace that the Yanks have been looking for.

Nova left his last start against the Baltimore Orioles after just 79 pitches, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in six innings because of tightness in his right triceps, but after throwing a bullpen session a couple of days ago, he has said that his arm feels good and he's ready to go.

"You never want to tell your manager, because they can push you back or skip you, whatever," Nova said Tuesday. "You just want to keep pitching."

Taking the  mound for the Red Sox in the series finale is talented right-hander Clay Bucholtz, who enters tonight's match up with a perfect 10-0 record, and a 0.79 ERA in two starts against the Bombers this season.

Bucholtz spent a couple of months on the DL, and when he came back, he picked up right where he left off, holding the Tampa Bay Rays scoreless over five innings while giving up just three hits and striking out six. He wasn't at his best, but it's certainly a good sign.

"It'd be great if he could go out and continue what he did down in Tampa," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "But as I mentioned [Friday], the stress of the pitches from his start to the end of his night, that'll have as much bearing as the number of pitches thrown."

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