G159: Red Sox 3, Spiders 0

Spiders - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0
Red Sox - 102 000 00x - 3 12  0

Lester (6.1-2-0-1-7, 84) seems fine! Look out, Angels.

                     Pitches
1:  F7  F7  F9          10
2:  F9  F9  P4          11
3:   K  63  P9          14
4:  1B   K 543           7
5:   K   K   K          15
6:  31  2B   K   K      20
7:  63  BB               7

Jacoby Ellsbury got the first of his three singles in the first and promptly stole second (#68). He took third on a force play and scored on Kevin Youkilis's sac fly to right.

In the third, Victor Martinez doubled with one out. Yook singled him to third and David Ortiz's single brought him home. Jason Bay's single scored Yook.

After Lester left, Daniel Bard loaded the bases on a double and a HBP, but got a 6-4-3 double play to wiggle out of trouble. Billy Wagner needed only eight pitches (all strikes) in the eighth (F7, K, 6-3) and Jonathan Papelbon got a OTT ninth on 11 pitches (K, K, 5-3).

Carlos Carrasco (9.00, 51 ERA+) / Jon Lester (3.52, 134 ERA+)

Carrasco, a 22-year-old righty, made his major league debut on September 1. This will be his fifth start. In 19 innings, he has allowed 31 hits and 10 walks -- that's a 2.158 WHIP -- while striking out 10.

Lester is back on the hill after taking a line drive off the side of his right knee against the Yankees last Friday. However, he wasn't pitching well that night before his early exit; this will be a tune-up before his ALDS start.

Victor Martinez, who was in the Cleveland organization for 13 years, is excited to face his former team. In 52 games since the trade, Martinez has hit .332. He has also hit safely in 27 of his past 28 games, batting .350 (36-for-103).