setting sale

Lefty ready for 1st start vs. new rival

BOSTON — With Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz having ridden off into the sunset — in very different ways — there’s a void in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

Maybe Chris Sale can help fill it.

While the Red Sox’s new lefthanded pitcher lacks the star power of some of the other players who took center stage when the two AL East foes were at their best, Sale certainly has the résumé to turn a bright spotlight on himself when he takes the mound against the Yankees for the first time at Fenway Park.

“He’s been unbelievable,” David Price said of his fellow southpaw before Tuesday’s rainout at Fenway Park pushed Sale’s start back to Thursday. “Just dominant. I don’t think it’s going to be much of an adjustment for him to get used to pitching against them, because he’s just the same guy every time he goes out there. He just has to go pitch and be himself.”

That worked pretty well for Sale when he was with the White Sox. Before being traded to Boston in December in exchange for four prospects, Sale was a certified Yankees-killer.

In 10 games against them — including seven starts — Sale is 4-1 with a 1.17 ERA. Versus the current Yankees roster, Sale has held hitters to a .200 average (17-for-85), with three homers, three walks, 34 strikeouts and a .577 OPS.

And the former White Sox star certainly has not been affected by pitching for a more high-profile team through his first four starts this season. In 29 2/3 innings, Sale has allowed just three runs (0.91 ERA). He has struck out 42 and walked just six

The only problem has been the Red Sox have scored just 10 runs during those outings and Sale has picked up just one win. Craig Kimbrel cost him another with a blown save after Sale tossed eight shutout innings.

Sale’s performance has been one of the few things that have gone right this season for the Red Sox, who can’t shake the injury bug. Price has been out with an elbow injury and Pablo Sandoval was placed on the disabled list with a knee injury.

Dustin Pedroia is expected to be able to return Wednesday after he was forced to miss two games following Manny Machado’s controversial slide into second in Baltimore on Friday. That led to some fireworks between the two teams when Boston’s Matt Barnes threw a ball behind Machado’s head two days later.

The situation only got murkier when cameras caught Pedroia telling Machado from the dugout that he hadn’t called for the Code Red.

“I wish the cameras that showed me were just as good as the instant replays,” Pedroia said. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. … We all talked about that. We feel good about each other. We all have each other’s backs. Everybody knows how everybody feels about each other.”

“Everybody in this clubhouse has one another’s back,” said Barnes, who is appealing his four-game suspension. “It’s a strong unit in here. We’ll get back at it [Wednesday] try and win a series against the Yankees.”

Sale figures to play a key role in that and Rick Porcello, who will now start Wednesday, is confident Sale is up to the task.

“His ability to go out there and literally make every hitter in the lineup feel uncomfortable is unbelievable,” Porcello said of Sale, 28. “When I was in Detroit, I watched two of the most dominant pitchers in the game in Max [Scherzer] and Justin [Verlander]. Chris is right there and has strung together four of the most impressive starts I’ve ever seen.”

Porcello doesn’t expect Sale to change his ways against the Yankees.

“Every team we play is our biggest rival,” Porcello said. “It’s not just pinstripes. We want to kick everyone’s ass, not just the Yankees.”