A Getaway Win For Lester & The Red Sox

Jon Lester was dominant after the first inning as the Boston Red Sox humbled the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 8-2. Lester went six strong, giving up that first inning run and getting stronger as his six inning stint progressed. He ended up with a season-high twelve (!) strikeouts. Quite simply, he was fun to watch. Boston manager Terry "Tito" Francona has this to say about him...

“That’s as good as we’ve seen him,” said manager Terry Francona after Lester had struck out a career-high 12. “He pitched great. He used all his pitches and there was power behind them.

And here's the lefthander himself...

I feel like I’m going in the right direction,” Lester said. "But after the first inning, I was able to get into a little better rhythm. I guess the biggest thing for me is trying not to do too much. I’ve been running into problems where some balls have flattened out on me because I’ve been trying to do too much, trying to have that shutdown inning instead of just letting my body work for me and doing quality location and throwing quality pitches. I was able to focus on that a little bit more today and have better results because of it.”

Justin Masterson pitched the seventh and the eighth and gave Toronto their final tally of the game. Ramon Ramirez, in a comeback performance from his last mediocre outing on Saturday, pitched a scoreless ninth and the BoSox were able to jet to Detroit on a winning note. After their much deserved day off today, they start a three game set with the Tigers before coming home, home, home at last to tangle with the Rangers and the pinstriped Yankees. Bring 'em on. We're now just half a game out of first place.

Have a great Monday as yet another new week begins. I hope your weekend was great...mine was average although it was beautiful here yesterday in north central Connecticut. I'll be better, MUCH better once Nadia gets here. That will be (God willing) Wednesday. I miss her so much.

Feel free to click on this post's title to be zapped to the Boston Globe Red Sox homepage and as always, BE WELL. I'll be seeing you...soon. Your comments are always welcome...I'll respond to every one. Thanks.