First pitch: Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: New York +155, Boston -165, Total: 10.0

The Yankees will be looking to rebound from their disastrous Thursday night loss by defeating the Red Sox in Boston on Friday.

New York had a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday and Boston ended up winning 7-5, as 1B Hanley Ramirez (.284, 25 HR, 100 RBI) hit a three-run, walk-off homer. The Yankees have had as reliable a bullpen as any team in the league since the All-Star break, but RP Dellin Betances (2.83 ERA, 11 SV) unraveled in this game and let this one slip away from a New York team that desperately needed a victory. At this point, anything short of the Yankees winning the next three games in this series would likely mean that the team is out of the AL Wild Card race. Heading to the mound in this Friday night matchup will be RHP Luis Cessa (4-1, 4.34 ERA, 31 K) for New York and RHP Clay Buchholz (6-10, 5.31 ERA, 81 K) for Boston. The Yankees will be confident trotting Cessa out there, as they have come away with wins in four of his past five appearances. New York is also fortunate enough to face Buchholz, whose teams are 5-15 against the money line in homes games versus AL teams with a batting average of .260 or worse over the past three seasons. Betances (Rest) would likely be skipped in a save situation in this one, as he has thrown a lot of pitches over the past three games for New York.

Luis Cessa has been a bright spot in the Yankees rotation since coming up and New York could badly use a solid performance from him on Friday. Cessa got beat up a bit by the Blue Jays in his most recent start, allowing three homers and four earned runs in just 5.2 innings of work. He had allowed three or fewer earned runs in his four previous starts and it’d be big for the Yankees if he could turn in a quality start in this one. Cessa’s only meeting with Boston this season came as a relief pitcher on Aug. 11. He pitched well in that one, allowing no earned runs in two innings of work. It will, however, be a lot tougher the second time around. Offensively, OF Jacoby Ellsbury (.269, 9 HR, 52 RBI) could be a factor in this one. He was 2-for-5 against Boston on Thursday and has now gotten two or more hits in three of the past nine games. It’d be big if he can get on base often in this one. C Gary Sanchez (.324, 14 HR, 25 RBI) will also be a player to watch in this one. Sanchez has remained hot for the Yankees lately, as he was 2-for-5 on Thursday and has now homered in three of the past seven games.

The Red Sox are going to be riding high after a big Thursday night victory and Clay Buchholz is going to be on the mound looking to make it two straight for the Sox on Friday. Buchholz struggled in his last start, allowing six earned runs in just three innings of work. He allowed two homers in that limited time and also walked four batters. If he is not better with his control on Friday then the Yankees are going to make him pay for it. As for Buchholz’s run support, Hanley Ramirez could be ready to provide some of it on Friday. After hitting the bomb to win the game on Thursday, Ramirez should be brimming with confidence coming into this one. DH David Ortiz (.317, 34 HR, 114 RBI) is also on fire coming into this one and should have no trouble hitting Cessa. Ortiz has homered in three of the past five games and will be hoping to hit another against a pitcher that is prone to making mistakes on Friday.