ALCS AT A GLANCE

Records: Red Sox 98-64, A.L. wild card; Yankees, 101-61, A.L. East champions.

Season series: Red Sox won, 11-8.

Managers: Terry Francona is in his first year with the Red Sox and is 3-0 in the postseason. Joe Torre is 887-567 (.610) in nine seasons with the Yankees, 68-31 (.687) in the postseason.

Pitching matchups: Game 1 – Red Sox RHP Curt Schilling (21-6, 3.26) vs. Yankees RHP Mike Mussina (12-9, 4.59); Game 2 – Red Sox RHP Pedro Martinez (16-9, 3.90) vs. Yankees RHP Jon Lieber (14-8, 4.33); Game 3 – Red Sox RHP Bronson Arroyo (10-9, 4.03) vs. Yankees RHP Kevin Brown (10-6, 4.09); Game 4 – Red Sox RHP Tim Wakefield (12-10, 4.87) vs. Yankees TBA.

On the spot: Schilling. He was acquired last winter from Arizona in large part because he (and Randy Johnson) found a way to beat the Yankees in the 2001 World Series. Now Schilling will be expected to shrug off a painful right ankle and do it again.

Series surprise: Red Sox 1B Kevin Millar hit .322 with five homers and 10 RBIs against the Yankees this year. He reached base 44 percent of the time and has hit .364 in 11 career at-bats against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

Series keys

1-Arms race: During the regular season the Red Sox outpitched the Yankees, at least on paper. They ranked third in league ERA and starters’ ERA and were tied for third in bullpen ERA. The Yankees ranked sixth, sixth and ninth, respectively, in those categories.

2-Shaky Mo: Rivera blew just four saves in 57 chances during the regular season, but two came against Boston (in five tries). A family tragedy forced him to return home to Panama, but he’s expected back for Game 1 tonight.

3-Stay calm: Don Zimmer isn’t around to charge Pedro Martinez anymore, but history tells you tempers will flare at some point in the series. The team that does the better job of channeling its emotions will have an advantage.

Worth noting: This marks the third time in the past six years these ancient rivals have met in the ALCS. … The Red Sox scored 10 of their 25 runs in the first round during the fourth inning, which suggests they make better adjustments the second time through the lineup. … Since the start of the 2002 season, the teams have played 64 times, including the playoffs, and won 32 games apiece.

– Mike Berardino, South Florida Sun Sentinel