Red Sox 6 - 2 Orioles
Final
  for this game

Lester tries to salvage series finale, remain perfect vs. O's

Apr 28, 2011 - 2:33 PM

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(Sports Network) - Jon Lester goes after his third straight win this evening when the Boston Red Sox try to salvage the finale of their three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Extending that streak may not be that difficult for the 27-year-old left- hander, as he owns a flawless 13-0 mark against the Orioles with a 2.33 earned run average in 16 starts. In eight starts at Camden Yards, he is 6-0 with a 2.50 ERA.

Lester was terrific in beating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday, as he scattered four hits over six scoreless innings and struck out eight to get the win, upping his season mark to 2-1, while lowering his ERA to 2.59.

"I felt all right early on, I had good fastball command," said Lester, who has surrendered one earned run over 12 innings of his last two starts. "They hit a lot of foul balls and I had to grind it out."

The Red Sox will need Lester to be their stopper tonight after a disheartening loss on Wednesday. Vladimir Guerrero hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning after Boston had rallied to tie the game in the Orioles' 5-4 victory.

Baltimore was ahead 4-0 heading into the eighth, but its bullpen gave up the lead and Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run homer off Koji Uehara (1-0) to tie the game.

However, the Orioles' offense rallied against Daniel Bard (0-3) in the home half to send the club to its second straight win. Baltimore won the opener of this three-game series, 4-1, on Tuesday.

Jeremy Guthrie threw six shutout innings to help Baltimore establish a lead, and Jeremy Accardo tossed a perfect seventh, but was pulled after allowing the first two hitters to reach base in the eighth.

"It's big to see us get the lead and win the game," Guthrie said. "Bard throws well and Vlad got the big hit, so that was good."

Opposing Lester tonight will be right-hander Brad Bergesen, who is 0-3 on the year with a 5.40 ERA. Bergesen was hammered by the New York Yankees on Saturday, as he allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings.

Bergesen has faced the Red Sox six times and has gone 2-3 with a 3.32 ERA against them.

Boston split its 18 games with the O's last season, but was 16-2 against them in 2009. Baltimore also completed a three-game sweep of the Sox at Camden last season.






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