The Yankees will take a look at Ted Lilly today, as they audition their third rookie in an attempt to fill the fifth starting slot. Christian Parker and Randy Keisler have both gotten their own shots, albeit with widely varying results. As such, only 18 games into the season, the Yankees will be measuring the progress of yet another rookie. Lilly, who was leading the International League with 20 strikeouts, is more prepared than the other pair of prospects. The southpaw, who was acquired from Montreal in the Hideki Irabu deal, has already pitched on the Major League level. Lilly pitched in nine games for the Expos in '99 and seven games for the Yanks last season.

One of those outings was against Boston, and he held the Red Sox to a scoreless inning. This time, he may be tested more. The Red Sox will send their own young pitcher to the mound in Japanese sensation Tomo Ohka. In just his third season of American baseball, Ohka has crafted quite a resume for himself. In '99, after going 15-0 on the Minor League level, he was named Boston's Minor League Pitcher of the Year He pitched in the Futures Game and made his Major League debut that same season, notching a 1-2 record. Ohka stuck with the Sox last season, after spending half the season at Triple-A. He pitched a perfect game down at Pawtucket, and then in 12 starts in the bigs, Ohka went 3-6 with a 3.12 ERA. One of those losses came against the Yankees, when he allowed one run in six innings. This year, Ohka is a full-fledged member of the rotation. Fittingly, he is off to a fast start. So far this season, Ohka has gone 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA. The Yankees and Red Sox are set to play their seventh game against each other, a tremendous tally this early in the year. Boston has won four of the six games between the two teams. As a result, the BoSox have raced out to a 13-5 record, good for first place in the A.L. East. Meanwhile, the Yanks are in third place at 10-8, three games behind the pace. After this matchup, the last of a three-game set, the two teams will not meet each other until the end of May when they play five more games against each other, three in New York and two in Boston.