Papelbon ties Red Sox saves record
June 30, 2009
BALTIMORE (AP)—It’s about as close as it gets to a sure thing in baseball: JonLester(notes) and Jonathan Papelbon(notes) pitching for Boston against the Baltimore Orioles.
Lester threw seven shutout innings, Papelbon earned a milestone save and theRed Sox extended their dominance of the Orioles with a 4-0 victory Monday night.
Lester is 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA against Baltimore in 10 career starts. Theonly other pitcher to win his first eight decisions against the Orioles was ToddStottlemyre (1988-93).
“Maybe their lineup just fits me for some reason, I don’t know,” Lestersaid. “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.”
Boston made it easy for Lester by building a 4-0 lead in the fourth inningagainst rookie Jason Berken(notes) (1-5)
Papelbon got the final out with two on to earn his 132nd career save, tyingBob Stanley for the most in Red Sox history. Papelbon has 19 saves this seasonin 20 opportunities.
Series at a Glance Boston 4 Baltimore 0 Mon, Jun 29 – Final Boston at Baltimore Tue, Jun 30 – 7:05 pm ET Boston at Baltimore Wed, Jul 1 – 1:35 pm ET
Lifetime against Baltimore, he’s 20 for 20 with a 0.39 ERA.
Throw in the fact that Boston has won eight straight against the Orioles—including five this season—and it’s no wonder the Red Sox ended the night bycelebrating their seventh win in nine games.
Lester (7-6) gave up five hits, struck out eight and walked none. He allowedonly one runner past first base, but even then the left-hander proved to beoverpowering: In the fifth inning, despite yielding a pair of two-out singles,he struck out the side.
Brian Roberts(notes) was the last out of the inning, and he threw his bat aside indisgust after being called out by umpire Jerry Layne.
“Jon Lester’s pitching a great game, and tip your cap to him. But thestrike zone was definitely in his favor tonight. And that’s the way it was. Thatwas established early,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “It was a bigstrike zone and he took advantage of it. I can
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