Lester Bolsters His All Star Chances

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles by a lopsided score of 9-3. Two of those runs came off Robert Manuel with a little help from Ramon Ramirez. John Lester, the Boston starter, was magnificent. He went seven innings and allowed one little run on five hits, walking one and striking out seven. He has NEVER lost to the lowly O's. His record improved to 10-3 with a great ERA of 2.75. He is solid and he WILL be on the All Star team, which will be announced today. Look for Clay Buchholz and Big Papi to be on the team, too. Youk should be. Here's Jon on that very subject...

"It would be nice. Never been, would like to go,’’ he said. “If I end up going, that’s awesome. I’ll be very excited. It’ll be an honor.’’

And the Sox shortstop, Marco Scutaro...

“If he’s not an All-Star, who is?’’ Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro said. “I can’t believe he hasn’t been before. That guy has been one of the best pitchers in the game for a while now.’’

The Red Sox have the same exact record as they did last year at the halfway point of the season (49-32). Not bad for a team decimated by injury. The team has come together under adversity unbelievably well and THEY NEVER GIVE UP. Here's Jon Lester once more...

“It’s what we’ve been telling you since the beginning of the season -- we’re going to fight, we’re not going to just lay down and let everybody beat us up,” Lester said. “Obviously we’re going to go out there and battle and hopefully put some games in the win column. We’ve been able to do that.”

They sure have! On the offensive side, Big Papi David Ortiz (All Star stats) and JD Drew each had three hits and Kevin Youkilis drove in three runners, two on a mammoth tater off the billboard high above the outfield crowd. The Sox are an exciting team to watch and are playing on all cylinders every game. And this afternoon is the series finale which pits John Lackey against Matusz, who has lost nine straight decisions. Let's make it ten! Boston holds 1/2 game behind the Yankees. They will not need a fifth starter until Tuesday, giving manager Terry Francona more flexibility. The more the merrier.

Have a great Sunday and a terrific 4th of july. You can click on this post's title for more on our resilient Red Sox and as always, BE WELL. Be careful out there!