Eight Is Great For Lester by Mike Ghika
He improves to 8-0 vs. O’s as offense gets back on track

Not quite sure how the schedule gods managed to keep the Sox from playing at Baltimore until the end of June. It was something the Orioles were likely happy about, considering the Sox were 30-16 at Camden Yards since 2004 heading into Monday night’s game.

Tally another into that win column after a 4-0 win.

The Sox got another what-more-can-you-say outing from Jon Lester, the offense got back on track after scoring just once in each of the last two games, and the team is now 5-0 against Baltimore as we near the midway point of the season.

Manager Terry Francona again tweaked the leadoff spot in the order, and this time it had nothing to do with Jacoby Ellsbury. Dustin Pedroia, who has hit leadoff since the Ellsbury experiment began May 31, was flipped with JD Drew who had been hitting out of the No. 2 slot. The change proved successful in its initial trial, as Drew was a double shy of the cycle and Pedroia singled home a run and walked twice.

Excitement came early on in the top of the first, as Drew led things off with a hard liner to center on the third pitch of the game. The extra base-hit caromed off the wall and bounced over Adam Jones’ head, allowing Drew to stroll into third easily with a leadoff triple. Pedroia singled a 2-2 pitch back up the middle to plate Drew, and the Sox had an early 1-0 lead.

The Sox would leave the bases loaded in the second following back-to-back singles from David Ortiz and Mark Kotsay. Ellsbury would force out Kotsay on a groundball before swiping second, and Nick Green was then hit by a pitch to load them up. However, Drew would fly out to end the threat.

In the third, the Sox would leave two more after Pedroia opened the frame with a walk. Pedroia swiped second (his thirteenth on the year) before Kevin Youkilis struck out, and then advanced to third on a balk before Jason Bay struck out. Kotsay followed an Ortiz walk by grounding out to second.

But in the fourth, the Sox were able to push those base runners across. Ellsbury was hit by a pitch and then proceeded to steal second (his 33rd on the year) before scoring on a Jason Varitek RBI single. After Green popped out, Drew hit a towering fly ball to right that kept carrying and carrying as Jones and right fielder Nick Markakis both climbed the wall only to watch it sail into the seats for a 4-0 lead.

The closest the Orioles came to getting to Lester came in the fifth after youngsters Matt Wieters and Robert Andino both put together two-out singles, but Lester got Brian Roberts looking to end the inning. He had 1-2-3 innings in the first, third, and sixth.

Lester went seven innings on the night, allowing no runs on five hits while striking out eight. He threw 108 pitches and did not walk a batter in improving to 7-6 on the year and 8-0 all time against the O’s. In his last eight starts, Lester sports a 5-2 record and 2.41 ERA while striking out 60 in 52.1 innings.

On his success against Baltimore: “Maybe their lineup just fits me for some reason, I don’t know,” Lester said. “I don’t pitch any different against them than against any other team, but I’m just fortunate to get some runs early on and that's the biggest thing.”

Manny Delcarman and Hideki Okajima took care of the eighth, as Francona went to struggling righty Ramon Ramirez with a four-run lead in the ninth. Ramirez allowed two solo homers in a three-run game for the hold against the Yankees back on June 10, and he’s been hit with two blown saves recently against Philadelphia and Atlanta. After two quick outs to begin the ninth, Ty Wigginton singled a 2-1 pitch into left before Ramirez walked Melvin Mora.

With the tying-run in the on-deck circle, it became a save situation and Francona didn’t hesitate to bring on Jonathan Papelbon to close it. After getting ahead of Wieters 0-2, the phenom catcher lofted a soft fly ball to left that Bay laid out for and snatched to end the game. It was Papelbon’s 19th save of the season, moving him into elite company in the Red Sox record books.

Things you’ll need to know to impress your friends:

With the save, Papelbon tied Bob Stanley for the franchise record with 132 career saves. Papelbon reaches the mark after just 232 career relief appearances, having posted 35, 37, and 41 saves from 2006-08 respectively. Stanley, who was both a starter and reliever with the Sox, needed 13 seasons to reach his 132 saves.

The Red Sox are now a league-best 40-1 when leading after seven innings.

Lester has allowed three runs or less in each of his last six starts. He is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in that span.

The victory gives Lester an 8-0 all-time record against Baltimore with a 2.18 ERA in 10 starts. Todd Stottlemyre is the only other starter to win his first eight decisions versus the Orioles.

Tuesday’s pitching match-up:

On Tuesday night, future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz (0-1, 9.00) makes his second start as a member of the Red Sox. In his Sox debut and return from a shoulder injury last week, the lowly Nationals touched Smoltz for five runs and seven hits over five innings. While Smoltz looks to right the ship, Massachusetts’ native and lefthander Rich Hill (3-2, 6.03) toes the slab for Baltimore. His ERA is up over six, but the O’s are 6-2 when Hill takes the hill this season. Nonetheless, he has been erratic and inconsistent, and it is sure to be nerve-wracking as Hill prepares for his first career start against his hometown team.

-Mike Ghika

Final Score: Red Sox 4, Orioles 0

Published on June 30, 2009

---