Pettite Starts Game 1 in Crucial Series Against BoSox

Tim Wakefield, RHP (7-8, 3.67)
Red Sox (74-55)
Andy Pettitte, LHP (13-9, 4.17)
Yankees (69-60)

Scouting Report:
Red Sox: With the tingling and numbness in his right arm still an issue, Josh Beckett will be skipped against the Yankees, leaving a vacancy that will likely be filled by Wakefield, who pitched a side session on Saturday and was pronounced ready to start on Tuesday. The knuckleballer has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 with tightness in his right shoulder and is expected to be activated in time to face the Yankees on Tuesday. In his two starts before going on the disabled list, Wakefield had gone 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. In his career against the Yankees, the 16-year veteran is 9-17 with a 5.14 ERA.

Yankees: Pettitte picked up his 13th win of the season and his first since July 26 with seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday at the Rogers Centre, holding the Blue Jays to just Alex Rios' run-scoring single in the sixth inning. Pettitte has given up five hits or fewer in 11 of his 27 appearances this season. He is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox this season, having beaten them on July 26 at Fenway Park with six innings of three-run ball, though only one was earned.