The Red Sox (8-4) and Yankees (8-4) will conclude the four-game series with the traditional Patriots Day game on Monday. Frank Castillo (0-1, 5.00) will get the start for the Red Sox on Monday. Mike Mussina (1-0, 3.07) pitches for the Yankees. The Red Sox have won seven of their last nine.

Following Monday's game, the Yankees stay on the road, visiting Toronto for a three-game series before returning home for another showdown with the Red Sox. The Yankees and Red Sox open a three-game series on Friday at Yankee Stadium.

PITCHING, PITCHING, PITCHING: The Yankees' Fab Four of Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Orlando Hernandez has received a lot of attention, but entering Sunday's game, Boston's pitching ranked No. 1 the majors with a 1.97 ERA. Opponents were batting just .196 against Red Sox pitchers, who had 96 strikeouts and just 33 walks in 100 2/3 innings.

By contrast, Yankee pitchers were tied with the Dodgers with the ninth-best ERA (3.79). Opponents were hitting .246 against the Yankees, who had 82 strikeouts and 29 walks in 99 2/3 innings.

Pettitte failed to win his third straight start, giving up five runs and a career-high 14 hits over six-plus innings. He faced four batters in the seventh, allowing a triple, double and two singles.

"It was ugly, it was crazy," he said. "That's all you can say about it. It was a crazy, ugly game."

The "crazy" part was Carl Everett's triple in the seventh inning. It should have been a single, but Yankee second baseman Alfonso Sorinao accidentally kicked the ball the down the line with his knee cap while chasing after the bloop hit. Down 3-2 at the time, Everett scored the tying run on Manny Ramirez's double.

Ramirez took third on Dante Bichette's single and scored the go-ahead run on Jason Varitek's single.

SORIANO STARS: Saturday's showdown between Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens lived up to the hype, but in the end, Yankee rookie Alfonso Soriano stole the show.

After manufacturing the tying run against Martinez with his speed, Soriano led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run over the "Green Monster" to lead the Yankees to a 3-2 victory.

Boston led 2-0 through seven innings and appeared to be on cruise control. Jorge Posada then doubled and Tino Martinez blooped a single to right to put runners on the corners. Soriano hit what looked like to be a double-play grounder to third, but beat the relay throw to first.

Soriano then stole second and third and scored the tying run when Martinez threw a wild-pitch.

Clemens allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, walking four and striking out five.

"You know when you are facing a guy like Pedro, a couple of runs can mean the difference in the game," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "Tip your hat to Rocket, he pitched a great game."

Martinez yielded two runs and six hits in seven innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.

RIVERA BOUNCES BACK: Mike Stanton (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings to notch Sunday's victory while Mariano Rivera, who on Friday suffered his first blown save since August 18, struck out two in a perfect ninth to record his third save of the season.

"It was good to be back out there today," Rivera told reporters after the game. "You just want to be the one to be out there again and make them beat you again. If you beat me once, then you are going to have to try and beat me twice because I'm going after you. I was kind of pumped up today."

BERNIE STILL MISSING: All-Star center fielder Bernie Williams has missed the last six games to be with his hospitalized father in Puerto Rico. Bernabe, Sr., is battling pulmonary fibrosis.

Williams' replacement in center field, Michael Coleman, missed the last two games because of a hamstring injury. Joe Torre played Clay Bellinger in center Saturday and Sunday. That meant Torre didn't have Bellinger to use in left as a defensive replacement for Chuck Knoblauch, a move Torre likes to make.

Scott Brosius played the final three innings of Saturday'sgame in center field and handled one fly ball easily. Brosius moved to the outfield when Torre hit for Bellinger in the seventh. The New York Post reported that iot was Brosius' 165th game in the outfield and first in center field since Aug. 20, 1997 with Oakland.

Quick Hits

• Until his double on Saturday, Posada was 1-for-17 with 10 strikeouts against Martinez.
• Troy O'Leary's home run on Aug. 1, 1999 was the last home run the Red Sox have hit against the Yankees at Fenway Park. New York, meanwhile, has homered 17 times during that period at Fenway.
• Posada had three passed balls during the first three games of the Boston series.
• Third baseman Scott Brosius extended his career-best hitting streak to 12 games with a single on Sunday. He carried a .391 average into Monday's game.
• Posada was 2-for-3 with his fifth home run on Sunday. He raised his average to .371.
• Sid Fernandez' comeback from a three-year retirement ended this weekend when the 38-year-old lefty called it quits in Triple-A Columbus. Fernandez, who was on the seven-day DL with a bothersome right knee, made one start for the Clippers and gave up seven hits and three runs in two innings.

FAST FACT: Chuck Knoblauch this month became the first player to start more than three consecutive games in left field for the Yankees since 1989, when Rickey Henderson played the first 53 games.

MENDED MENDOZA: After opening the season in extended spring training to rehabilitate a right shoulder injury, right-hander Ramiro Mendoza was added to the active roster prior to the April 10 game with Kansas City. The versatile Mendoza promptly pitched an inning in relief of Mussina and was credited with his first win when the Yankees rallied for a comeback victory in the top of the ninth inning.

To make room for Mendoza on the active roster, the Yankees placed right-hander Christian Parker on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Parker opened the season as the No. 5 starter in the Yankees' rotation.

Mendoza is expected to fill a late-inning set-up role, replacing right-hander Jeff Nelson, who left the club via free agency. Mendoza will join left-hander Mike Stanton in that capacity.

Mendoza retired nine straight batters in a game against the Red Sox on Friday, April 13.

Noteworthy

STAND BY YOUR MAN: Despite the latest incident in a long string of mishaps and misbehavior, the wife of former Yankees outfielder Darryl Strawberry continues to request support for her husband. Strawberry faces criminal charges for violating his parole recently, though his wife is arguing that he needs compassion instead.

"Please understand that Darryl is not a bad person trying to be good. He is a sick person trying to get well," Charisse Strawberry said. "I don't believe any alcoholic or addict, if he hasn't killed or hurt someone should be in prison. I think any alcoholic or addict needs treatment and rehabilitation.''