Rookie takes aim at Sox sweep
Boston (42-34) at New York (49-26), 7:05 p.m. ET
By David Moses / MLB.com

The most heated rivalries that Brad Halsey has ever been involved in are Texas vs. Texas A&M and the Staten Island Yankees vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones.
That will all change on Thursday, when the young left-hander toes the mound for the Yankees, who are looking for a three-game sweep of the rival Boston Red Sox.

Halsey will be making just the third start of his young career, but each one has been has been packed with pressure. In his Major League debut, Halsey pitched in front of a full house at Dodger Stadium, defeating Los Angeles. In his last start, he made his first Yankee Stadium appearance against the Mets, suffering his first loss.

"If I can get used to the series that I've been involved with the Dodgers and the Mets, if I can handle pitching in these kinds of games, I can pitch anywhere," Halsey said.

Halsey, who pitched well in his first start, was wild against the Mets and he didn't make it out of the fourth inning. Despite his poor performance, manager Joe Torre decided to go with the youngster, instead of starting either Jose Contreras or Mike Mussina on short rest or using Tanyon Sturtze.

"He's inexperienced, but he still seems to be able to do his thing," Torre said. "Hopefully, he throws some more quality strikes [on Thursday] than he did the other day. He can't elevate. If he elevates, he's going to get hurt."

With another come-from-behind win on Wednesday, the Yankees now hold a 7 1/2-game lead over the second-place Red Sox. What is even more surprising is that the Yankees hold this lead despite a 3-7 record against Boston this season.

"Nothing is safe," Torre said. "For sure, when we got out of April, I would have never envisioned this kind of lead."

In what some would consider a lopsided pitching matchup, Pedro Martinez will be on the mound for the Red Sox. Martinez always seems to pitch well against the Yankees in his career, with a stellar 2.77 lifetime ERA against New York.

"We certainly have the momentum going in," Torre said. "We're playing with a lot of confidence, but we're facing one of the best pitchers in baseball. We've made him work hard, so hopefully we can do that again tomorrow."

Despite the possibility of finishing the sweep and going ahead 8 1/2 games on July 1, Torre knows that there is still more than half the season left to play.

"After these last two games, we feel pretty good about ourselves, but you can't get too cocky," the manager said. "It's a long season, we know they're a good ballclub. The past history tells you that you can't look ahead."

Pitching matchup
NYY: LHP Brad Halsey

1-1, 8.00 ERA in 2004
First career appearance vs. BOS
BOS: RHP Pedro Martinez

8-3, 3.73 ERA in 2004
1-0, 0.00 ERA in 2004 vs. NYY
10-8, 2.77 ERA lifetime vs. NYY
Players to watch
It is well-known that Enrique Wilson hits Martinez very well. In his career, Wilson is batting .455 (10-for-22) against Martinez. ... Kenny Lofton doesn't have any homers against Martinez, but is batting .342 (13-for-38) against Boston's ace. ... First-year Yankee Gary Sheffield is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with two homers and eight RBIs against Martinez in his career. ... Jorge Posada has terrible numbers against Martinez in his career. The catcher is hitting just .184 (9-for-49) with 29 strikeouts. ... This is the first time any Boston player has faced Halsey.