(Photo credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images)

Teams at opposite ends of the American League East standings will meet Wednesday when the visiting New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox in the second game of a three-game series.The Yankees have a five-game lead over the last-place Red Sox following Tuesday night's 4-0 victory. It was the first time the Red Sox failed to score against the Yankees since 2022, and the first time the Yankees shut out the Red Sox at Fenway Park since 2020.Boston was limited to four hits in the loss, one of which was an infield single in the ninth inning. It was the fifth time the Red Sox have had four hits or fewer in a game this season.'Willson (Contreras) in the first inning, Narvy (Carlos Narvaez), the line drive to right-center, but besides that I don't think we hit the ball hard at all,' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. 'We swung a lot.'It was fast in the middle innings for him, for Gil (Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil). That's it. We didn't put pressure on him. He threw strikes, probably more than usual, but you still have to play the game and trust the fact that he's not a strike thrower. We got some pitches to hit.'Boston is averaging 3.87 runs per game this season.Giancarlo Stanton was the offensive catalyst for the Yankees on Tuesday. He hit a solo home run, had a two-run double and also hit a ball hard to center field that was caught by Ceddanne Rafaela.'Some really good at-bats by (Stanton) tonight,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'That last one might have been his hardest one where Rafaela made an unbelievable play on a cold night. ... Just some really good at-bats obviously to get us going with kind of a G-esque moonshot and then a big, long at-bat where he gets to 3-2 and is able to get a big extra-base hit for us. Obviously the difference for us tonight.'The Yankees will enter Wednesday's matchup having won four in a row and five of their past six.For his career, Stanton is hitting .318 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs in 40 games at Fenway Park.'I grew up seeing this place on TV, seeing the rivalry on TV as a kid and you kind of want to be a part of that,' Stanton said. 'It's always a fun rivalry game no matter where each team is in the standings, and so it's just a good experience. Pure baseball place to play and you gotta raise your game in those situations.'Wednesday's probable pitchers are a pair of left-handers:Ranger Suarez (1-1, 3.22 ERA) for Boston and Max Fried (2-1, 2.97) for New York. Suarez is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against the Yankees. Fried is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox.New York's Cody Bellinger extended his hitting streak to nine games with an eighth-inning single Tuesday.

--Field Level Media