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Returning home following a six-game road trip, the Boston Red Sox take aim at their third straight series win over the New York Yankees when the teams begin a three-game weekend set on Friday night.

The ancient rivals are meeting for the second time this month after the Red Sox pitched a 3-0 shutout to cap a series win in the Bronx on July 7, though they are coming off an ugly 20-7 loss on Wednesday at Colorado to cap a 1-5 trip.

Manager Alex Cora called it a “horse (expletive) game” for his team.

Outfielder Jarren Duran tripled and hit his 13th home run of the season while Rafael Devers was 3-for-3, but it was not nearly enough on a day when starting pitcher Nick Pivetta was battered for 10 hits and seven earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings.

It’s just on to the next against a New York club that is two games behind American League East-leading Baltimore. Boston is 6 1/2 games back.

“We lost,” outfielder Rob Refsnyder said. “It doesn’t matter. If we win by one run or by 10 runs, I mean, that’s all that matters. Winning games or losing games. We lost.”

The Red Sox will hand the ball to Brayan Bello (10-5, 5.27 ERA), who hasn’t dropped a decision since June 25 and struck out seven over six innings of three-run ball last Saturday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Bello took a June 14 loss to the Yankees and is 2-3 with a 2.27 ERA over six career starts in the head-to-head series.

Boston will look to get Devers back in the lineup at third base on Friday. He was moved to designated hitter Wednesday for precautionary reasons after suffering a shoulder injury on an attempted diving stop in Tuesday’s game.

“Obviously, (thinking) the worst, right? We’ve been through this path before,” Cora said. “But he’s OK. He said he just jammed it.”

The most recent Red Sox-Yankees series featured a coming-out party for New York rookie first baseman and Massachusetts native Ben Rice, who hit three home runs and drove in seven in a 14-4 Yankees win on July 6.

However, the Yankees also look to bounce back from a disappointing two-game sweep by their Subway Series rivals, the New York Mets, capped by a 12-3 loss on Wednesday.

New York is still in a playoff position despite a 10-22 rut since June 15. Every result means something, whether it’s the rival Mets or Red Sox or anyone else.

“We don’t want to lose to anybody,” Yankees outfielder Juan Soto said. “We want to win games. We want to go out there and dominate.”

It was a similar story to Boston’s most recent loss when New York fell on Wednesday. Gleyber Torres hit a leadoff home run and matched Soto with two hits, but starter Gerrit Cole surrendered three homers and six total runs.

“Nobody has higher expectations than us in that frickin’ room. We’re pissed off,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to play better. This has gone on long enough.”

Nestor Cortes (4-9, 3.99) has lost back-to-back starts to Tampa Bay entering his Friday turn at Fenway Park. The left-hander was charged with six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings last Saturday against the Rays.

Cortes is 2-0 with a 4.89 ERA in 11 career appearances (five starts) against Boston.

–Field Level Media