ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The holiday weekend will feature a four-game showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees, with two games slated for national telecasts.

But something is missing from this set. For the first time since the 2000 season, neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees will be in first place in the first week of July. And to find a year in which the teams met this late in the season and neither held down first, you have to go all the way back to 1997.

David Ortiz, who is still sidelined with a wrist injury, figures neither team will be down for long.

"There's a lot of games left," said Ortiz. "One way or another, [the Yankees] know how to figure it out. And we know how to figure it out."

"I’ve given that no thought," said manager Terry Francona of the fact that neither the Sox nor the Yanks are in the lead. "It doesn’t matter; it would if it was Oct. 1. We're going to get the best (from) them and they're going to get the best (from) us. We know that."