"He's an ace," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "We've got Josh and Dice [Daisuke Matsuzaka]. But Jon is a guy we want out there. He's been great all year. I wasn't surprised at all."
Los Angeles beat Boston eight of nine games during the regular season, but Jason Bay took part in none of them. Bay, the left fielder who came from the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates July 31 to replace Manny RamÃrez, bashed the decisive hit in his first career playoff game, a two-run homer in the sixth inning off John Lackey.
Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon owned the eighth and ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury added three hits, an insurance RBI in the ninth, and a jaw-on-the-dirt diving catch in shallow center in the eighth.
But it was Lester who carried the Sox, from the first inning - when he escaped a bases-loaded jam - to his 117th and final pitch. Everyone who fretted the Red Sox would miss Beckett forgot Lester became their most consistent and durable pitcher all season. He amassed a 3.21 ERA and 16-6 record. In the past 130 years, no pitcher with at least 59 career starts (Lester's total) had a better winning percentage than Lester's .771.
Manager Terry Francona this week, when he discussed Lester overtaking the task reserved for Beckett, smiled like a man who knows a secret and isn't telling. He never worried, and everyone else discovered why last night.
"I believe that we don't put too much on any one of our pitchers' shoulders," catcher Jason Varitek said. "There's a reason we have a full staff. Jon's just a part of it. And he's a big part of it. Nobody can bear the weight for somebody else. Just go out there and pitch the games you can pitch."
Vladimir Guerrero helped Masterson in the eighth with a base-running mistake, a gaffe bound for Angels infamy.
After Ellsbury made his diving catch on Mark Teixeira to lead off the inning, Guerrero singled. Torii Hunter followed with a bloop to shallow right, just out of Kevin Youkilis's grasp.
