Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett will take the mound Sunday night looking to have a better outing than he did last time against the Yankees, when he allowed six runs through five innings in the Red Sox’ 10-8 loss on July 6.

In that game, Beckett (5-10, 5.19 ERA) allowed five runs in the first inning before settling down and holding New York to one run through the next four innings. The 32-year-old has a 9.90 ERA the first inning this season, and has allowed runs in the first inning in five of his last seven outings.

Those first-inning woes did not hold true in his last outing, but that did not mean the game ended in a better result. Beckett allowed five runs in the sixth inning in the Red Sox’ 7-1 loss to the Orioles.

The right-hander has had a lot of experience against the Yankees, and has had mixed results against the lineup. He has had a lot of success against Mark Teixeira, who only has a .184 batting average in 60 plate appearances.

Taking the mound for the Yankees will be Hiroki Kuroda, who is coming off his best start of the season.

Kuroda (11-9, 3.06 ERA) pitched a complete-game shutout against the potent bats of the Rangers on Tuesday, only allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.

The 37-year-old has a 5-1 record with a 2.42 ERA in his last 10 starts and leads Yankees starters in innings pitched and ERA.

The Red Sox have not seen too much of Kuroda throughout his career. However, Adrian Gonzalez, who faced the right-hander a number of times when they were both in the NL West, has had a lot of success against Kuroda. Gonzalez has a .345 average with a .690 slugging percentage in 35 plate appearances.Red Sox vs. Kuroda (RHP)

Adrian Gonzalez (35 plate appearances): .345 BA/.457 OBP/.690 SLG, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 walks

Cody Ross (25): .240/.240/.440, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 strikeouts

Scott Podsednik (11): .182/.182/.364, 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts

Dustin Pedroia (6): .333/.333/.333

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (6): .200/.333/.800, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 1 strikeout

Pedro Ciriaco (4): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

Jacoby Ellsbury (4): .500/.500/.750, 1 double

Mike Aviles (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Carl Crawford (3): .333/.333/.333

Nick Punto (3): .333/.333/.667, 1 double

Yankees vs. Beckett (RHP)

Derek Jeter (92 plate appearances): .310 BA/.356 OBP/.405 SLG, 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 9 strikeouts

Robinson Cano (81): .329/.395/.589, 10 doubles, 3 home runs, 12 strikeouts

Mark Teixeira (60): .184/.333/.306, 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 20 strikeouts

Nick Swisher (54): .217/.315/.413, 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, 14 strikeouts

Curtis Granderson (42): .278/.381/.639, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 14 strikeouts

Andruw Jones (42): .270/.357/.297, 1 double, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts

Ichiro Suzuki (37): .278/.297/.361, 1 home run, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts

Eric Chavez (19): .235/.263/.353, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 4 strikeouts

Raul Ibanez (18): .235/.278/.353, 1 triple, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Russell Martin (10): .222/.300/.222, 1 strikeout

Jayson Nix (9): .125/.222/.125, 4 strikeouts