Boston Holds Baltimore At Bay...Red Sox 6 Orioles 3...**SCHILLING NEWS**

Jon Lester improved his record to 9-1 since June 5th and led the Boston Red Sox to a much needed 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore. And Jason Bay provided the power, smashing two home runs and driving in 4 runs. The game was close when Baltimore scored a pair of runs in the 8th inning, but the Sox erased all doubt with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 9th. Lester pitched into the 8th inning and allowed a lone earned run on 4 hits. He struck out 5 and walked only 1. In three words, he was outstanding. Here's what Lester and teammate and batting hero Jason Bay said after the victory...

"I don't think my mind-set has changed any since April," Lester said. "More consistent, pound the zone. If you can show guys you're ahead in the zone, they're going to swing at pitches early in the count that aren't necessarily good pitches to hit. I was able to do that tonight."

"I'll be honest, I didn't know a lot about him before I got here," Bay said of Lester. "But it's pretty obvious to me after being here that he's one of the better pitchers in this league."

Jon got it exactly right--his control was spot on and he "pounded" the zone with almost every pitch. That's when he's at his best...throw that first strike and set the tone for the rest of the at bat. Great job, Mr. Lester! The Sox collected 9 hits, the biggest two, of course, belonged to Jason Bay. He had three safeties in total. Others to get a hit were Pedy, 'Tek, Big Papi and Sean Casey, who manned first base last night. Tonight, it's up to Daisuke Matsuzaka to wiggle himself into and out of trouble, and he'll be opposed by Daniel Cabrera. May the force be with the Good Guys.

In another bit of Red Sox news, Curt Schilling said that he is leaning heavily towards retirement. Here's a quote from his blog, a recent one at that...

"As for me, well, my shoulder is getting better fast. Range of motion is improving greatly and pain is becoming less and less an issue. I’ve still got a rather lengthy amount of time before I decide anything.
As I stated yesterday the pendulum is swinging very heavily in the direction of it just being over. I’ve never sat around and not gotten ready to head to Florida, well not in 23 or so years anyway, so to me that will likely be the last real test for me and whether or not I want to put the time and effort into getting after it one more time."

Peter here, and good luck to you, Curt. You were a warrior who led us to 2 world championships. You will be missed. My Constant Readers, thank you once again for stopping in to my little corner of Red Soxness. You can click on the title of this post for more on last night's game and for the latest injury reports. If you have the time, I'd love to read and respond to your comments. As always, BE WELL.