Lester Waits 8 Hours To Make Debut

Jon Lester arrived at Fenway Park around 10 a.m. and had to wait more than eight hours to take the mound. "I was trying not to go stir crazy. Just sitting around, watching TV, trying not to think about the game, and when they told me to get ready, just try to hurry up and get out there."

Lester was surprised at the volume of the crowd. "I'm not used to that. Couple pitches I let the crowd kind of influence what I was doing. It's just like in the 0-2, 1-2 counts, 3-2 counts, they start getting on their feet, getting loud. You definitely feel the energy in the stadium. Sometimes it pumped me up and I wanted to throw as hard as I could. That kind of got me in trouble."

Lester (#62):

I'm not satisfied with the four walks and [the fact that I threw] a lot of pitches in four innings. That's kind of the biggest thing right now -- keep the pitches to a minimum and get as many outs as I can in a few pitches. Obviously, I was disappointed. I wanted to go as far I could and 4.1 innings isn't very far. ... But I'm happy to get that first one under my belt and get it done.

Wily Mo Pena expects to start playing in four weeks. ... Craig Hansen was sent back to Pawtucket to make room for Lester, who will remain in the rotation.