Lester To The Rescue in Game 3

The Red Sox finally got into the win column in the series, winning 6-1 behind a solid seven innings from John Lester. Lester was in trouble with two on and no outs in the first, but Dustin Pedroia made a great play on a bloop behind second base and doubled off the runner at second. Lester cruised from there, only allowing one player to reach second base after that point. He pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and allowed the offense a chance to get hot.

Mike Lowell started the scoring with a two run home run in the fourth inning and Jason Bay contributed an RBI single to make the score 3-0 when Lester left the game. Billy Wagner started the 8th and gave up his first run of the season on a home run by Ramon Castro, but got the next two outs and Bard and Papelbon finished off the night for the White Sox. Victor Martinez added a three run homer off Octavio Dotel in the 9th to make it 6-1.

Today was a good day for the Sox also because the Yankees, Rangers, and Rays all lost today, so Boston picked up a game on each. They are now three games up on the Rangers in the Wild Card and seven and a half behind the Yanks in the East; this was the game the Sox needed. Both Lester and Martinez admitted the he didn't have his best stuff today, but he still battled and made White Sox hitters look silly and the power carried the offense as it has since the beginning of August. Martinez is hitting over .320 with six homers with the Sox, lengthening the lineup and scaring opposing pitchers. The Sox look to get the split tomorrow with Beckett on the mound against a struggling Mark Buehrle.