BOSTON – David Wells put the New York Yankees on the verge of another World Series, sending them back to the Bronx with two chances to keep The Curse alive.

Wells worked his way out of trouble to lead the Yankees over the Red Sox 4-2 Tuesday for a 3-2 lead in the AL championship series. With one more victory, New York will extend Boston’s perennial heartache to 85 years.

Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are rested and ready for the final two games of the series, which continues Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

“We never get overconfident,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said.

Boston planned to start John Burkett, 0-6 against the Yankees in his career in the regular season, against Pettitte in Game 6, holding Pedro Martinez back for a seventh game rather than pitch him on three days’ rest. But knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who has both of his team’s wins, said he thought he would be available if the Red Sox wanted him in relief.

“The clock is ticking on us right now,” Boston manager Grady Little said. “We’ll just wait it out another day and see if they can get it going.”

Karim Garcia, who cut a knuckle in Saturday’s bullpen scuffle with a member of Boston’s grounds crew, was inserted into New York’s lineup just before gametime and hit a two-run single in the second off Derek Lowe, who dropped to 0-2 in the series. Boston fans taunted Garcia in the ninth with a sing-song chant of “Jailbird.”

David Dellucci originally was slated to start in right field, but manager Joe Torre told Garcia he was in the lineup after watching him in batting practice.

“His eyes lit up,” Torre said. “He thanked me.”

Alfonso Soriano followed Garcia’s hit with an RBI single and later made a fantastic backflip that helped stifle a Boston rally. Jeter also had a great play, making a diving stop to throw out Jason Varitek, and Hideki Matsui contributed a run-scoring grounder in the eighth.

New York is seeking its 39th AL pennant, and fifth in six seasons, while Boston is trying to get to the World Series for the first time since 1986.

Wells is a longtime Babe Ruth fan who six years ago wore one of the Bambino’s caps from 1934 for an inning against Cleveland. He both delights and distracts the Yankees, getting big wins but also causing big trouble from time to time.

“We know what he’s capable of doing,” Torre said.

He improved to 9-2 in the postseason, allowing one run – Manny Ramirez’s fourth-inning homer. Wells allowed just four hits in seven innings, blunting Boston just as he did Sept. 7, when the Red Sox closed within 1 1/2 games in the AL East before losing 3-1 to Wells.

“He was mixing it up pretty well – fastballs, curveballs,” Jeter said. “The thing with Boomer is he goes right at you.”

Mariano Rivera finished for his fourth save of the postseason. He allowed his first run of the playoffs when Todd Walker tripled off the right-field wall leading off the eighth and scored on a groundout by Nomar Garciaparra – his first RBI of the playoffs.

Lowe, who lost to Pettitte in Game 2, got in trouble in the second when he walked Jorge Posada with one out. After Matsui advanced Posada with a forceout, Lowe intentionally walked Nick Johnson, and Aaron Boone hit a hard bouncer to third that went off Bill Mueller’s glove and into the air, with Mueller unable to grab it with his bare hand on the first try.

That brought up Garcia, who lined a sinker into center for a 2-0 lead. When he reached first base, he kissed a finger and pointed toward the sky.

Soriano, 1-for-16 in the series at that point, hit a hard smash into right field on the next pitch for a 3-0 lead.

Boston threatened in the third, when Trot Nixon was hit by a pitch on the right shoulder and Varitek singled. Johnny Damon grounded to first to advance the runners, with Johnson making a nice pickup. Walker then flied to left and, with the crowd on its feet cheering, Garciaparra struck out on a 3-2 pitch.

Ramirez homered over the Green Monster in the fourth, his second of the series and third of the playoffs. With his 16th career postseason homer, he moved past Ruth into fifth place.

New York put runners on first and second with one out in the fourth and got runners at the corners with one out in the fifth, when Walker, Mueller and Kevin Millar failed to come up with difficult grounders during the two innings. But Lowe escaped both times.

After Soriano misplayed Nixon’s grounder for an error leading off the fifth, he made a neat play on Damon’s one-out grounder up the middle. Soriano ran toward second, stretched to the shortstop side of the base and with his glove flipped the ball back to Jeter, who caught it with his bare hand for the force.

Walker then singled and Garciaparra walked, loading the bases for Ramirez, who bounced into the forceout at third.