MLB

YOUNG ‘BUCH’ SET FOR STADIUM

Clay Buchholz not only passed his first test within the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, he practically aced the exam. And yet, based on that experience, the 23-year-old Buchholz is wary as he prepares for his rematch against the Bombers tonight.

The right-hander’s numbers were strong on Friday, when he allowed one run over six innings in Boston’s 4-1 loss at Fenway Park, but Buchholz subsequently told The Post it was frustrating facing the Yankees.

“They don’t swing at a lot of bad pitches, and that’s where I get by a lot,” said Buchholz, who will oppose Chien-Ming Wang at the Stadium. “They don’t swing at pitcher’s pitches. That’s how I work off my other stuff is to throw changeups down in the zone, get swings and misses and get ground balls out of them.

“They didn’t swing at a lot of bad pitches last time, pitches I need them to swing at. It’s a good hitting team.”

Buchholz’s misstep was a rocky fifth inning in which he walked Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada before Jose Molina ripped an RBI double. On most nights that kind of inning would have been tolerable, but with Wang close to untouchable (he finished with a complete game two-hitter), Buchholz was just fortunate to escape with a no-decision. Mike Timlin replaced Buchholz with it 1-1 in the seventh and took the loss after allowing two runs.

“The Yankees know what I have now, know my pitches and know what pitches I throw,” Buchholz said. “I’ve got to mix them up now. I saw them for the first time and I’ll just try to go about it in the same way, start throwing strikes, but I’ll have to throw some different sequences at them.”

Buchholz (0-1, 3.27 ERA) struggled in his initial start of the season, allowing four runs, one of which was unearned, on six hits over five innings in a loss to the Blue Jays. The Red Sox will send Josh Beckett to the mound tomorrow for the final meeting between the rivals until July 3.

Buchholz, a Nederland, Texas, native who grew up rooting for Derek Jeter, said he’s never been to Yankee Stadium. But he’s well aware that he’ll be considered the enemy tonight.

“It’s probably going to be the exact opposite of the way it was [at Fenway],” Buchholz said. “That’s going to be fun. It’s going to be neat to go on their turf and see how their fans react to us.”

mpuma@nypost.com