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Jacoby Ellsbury is set to return to Fenway Park for the first time since switching to pinstripes.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The Boston Red Sox, fresh off their close Patriots' Day loss to the Baltimore Orioles once again find themselves in the American League East cellar at 9-11 and now prepare to host a three-game set against the AL East-leading New York Yankees (11-8).

Fortunately for the Red Sox, the season is young and the race is tight. With a sweep, the Red Sox could leap frog the Yankees in the standings and make a push for first place -- depending on what the rest of the division does.

Regardless, the Red Sox enter the series with some question marks among their starters and some issues driving in runs early in games. Can the offense get it together against a hot Yankees team?

They've got three games to find out before the team returns to the road later this week.

Red Sox-Yankees schedule and probable starters

Tuesday, April 22, 7:10 p.m. - RHP Masahiro Tanaka vs. RHP Jon Lester

TV: NESNplus (bumped by Bruins)\MLB Network

Radio: 93.7 FM (Boston) / 105.5 FM (Springfield)

Wednesday, April 23, 7:10 p.m. - RHP Michael Pineda vs. RHP John Lackey

TV: NESN/ESPN

Radio: 93.7 FM (Boston) / 105.5 FM (Springfield)

Thursday, April 24, 7:10 p.m. - LHP CC Sabathia vs. LHP Felix Doubront

TV: NESNplus (bumped by Bruins)\MLB Network

Radio: 93.7 FM (Boston) / 105.5 FM (Springfield)

<<Full listing of Red Sox radio affiliates>>

Five things to watch

1. The return of Jacoby Ellsbury

Tuesday will mark the first time Red Sox fans will get a first-hand look at Jacoby Ellsbury in pinstripes. The rivalry may not be as heated as it used to be, but the Ellsbury's reception at Fenway will definitely merit close inspection.

2. Tanaka's Fenway Debut

After a long offseason of reports, rumors and dealings, Tanaka is pitching in real games for the Yankees -- and he's been fantastic.

Red Sox fans will get their first full viewing of Tanaka (2-0, 2.05 ERA) in the series opener. If you're looking for an in depth look on Tanaka's season so far, check out Jason Mastrodonato's breakdown.

3. Sabathia and Doubront settling down?

Felix Doubront and CC Sabathia, who are set to face off on Thursday, both had rough starts to the season. Sabathia opened the year by giving up six runs in six innings on opening day. Meanwhile, Doubront had a decent opener before imploding (five runs in 2 2/3 innings) against the Texas Rangers in his second start.

Four starts in, both pitchers seem like they're on the way to setting down. Sabathia's ERA now sits at 5.19 while Doubront's is at 5.48. The Yankees will certainly be counting more on Sabathia as one of their top-end starters. However, the Red Sox will need Doubront to hold down the back end of the rotation if Clay Buchholz continues his struggles.

Which starter will continue to rebound on Thursday?

4. Fast starts?

As John Tomase of the Boston Herald pointed out on Tuesday, the Red Sox are 6-1 when they strike first. They're 3-10 when they don't.

Quick scoring has been hard to come by this season for the Red Sox, but if the team is going to turn around their slow start to the season, they'll likely have to do it by jumping on opposing teams' starters.

5. Below .500 through 20 games

It may not be as bad as the Washington Post put it (The Red Sox will miss the playoffs and here's why), but the Red Sox did not hit a promising threshold with their most recent loss.

The Post went into depth to back up the stat, but failed to mention that the Red Sox only played in the postseason three times overall between 1918 and 1986 and that the current three-round playoff system has only been in place since 1994. It's an interesting stat, but a bit more sensational than it really seems.

Bonus: Trying to find NESNplus

As indicated above, two of this series' games have been bumped to NESN's secondary channel to make way for the Boston Bruins playoff broadcast. If you're intent on catching the Sox game, make sure you've got access to that channel beforehand from your local TV provider.

Not sure where to find it? Here's a helpful guide from NESN.com.