FEEL GOOD STORY GETS BETTER

Red Sox Nation felt extra special for pitcher Jon Lester last October when he won the clinching game of the 2007 World Series. The lefthander had beaten cancer and was on top of the world. On Monday evening, Lester added another chapter to one of the feel good stories in baseball history. Lester took the mound and delivered the first no-hitter of his career and the first of the season shutting down the Kansas City Royals 7-0.


And make no mistake about it, Lester tossed the gem of his still very young career. The 24 yr-old leftly was on top of his game. He threw 20 of 29 first pitch strikes to batters. That allowed him to consistently work ahead in the count and kept Kansas City hitters on the defensive. Lester ended the night with nine strikeouts as his fastball consistently stayed in the 92-94 mph range. He walked two batters and had a throwing error, but on this evening that hardly mattered. He got defensive help from centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who made a diving grab of a liner off the bat of Jose Guillen in the fourth inning.

The game also marked the first complete game of Lester's career. In a quick check of Red Sox history Lester became the first lefty to throw a no-hitter since Mel Parnell performed the feat in July of of 1965 against the White Sox. Lester also joins elite company by becoming just the second opposing pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the the Royals. Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in the only other pitcher to keep Kansas City hitters from collecting at least one hit in an official game. The last Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Clay Buchholz, who tossed a no-no against Baltimore last September.

Lester came into the game with a 2-2 record with a 3.95 era. He has been running hot and cold this season. He tossed an eight inning one-hit, no run game against Toronto and yet failed to reach the fifth inning twice. But while consistency has been a problem for Lester in 08 two things stand out that have shown him to be regaining the form that made him the organization's top pitching prospect before cancer sidetracked his career. His velocity has returned and he's gaining more confidence in his secondary pitches. On Monday night those two factors played a heavy role in his performance.

Lester will get a second start this week when Boston travels to Oakland. The Red Sox starting pitcher will enjoy this moment this evening and then try to focus on putting together consistently good performances for the remainder of the regular season. Nobody knows exactly how the rest of the season will play out for Lester, but in this moment he's put a big smile on the faces of his teammates, the Boston organization and Red Sox Nation. And that's what life is really all about isn't it? It's a series of moments that cling to our memories. And when you think of Jon Lester in the coming years those memories are going to be good ones.

BTW

Oh, Lester needed some run support. Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, Manny Ramirez drove in a run with a bases loaded walk and Kevin Youkilis chased in a run with a ground-rule double. The Sox scored two runs on a Kansas City error in the third inning when the Sox took control on the scoreboard with a five spot.