• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lester, Red Sox look for more domination vs. Devil Rays

Jul 28, 2007 - 1:19 PM Boston (63-40) at Tampa Bay (38-64) 7:10 pm EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - The Boston Red Sox will look to the courageous Jon Lester to continue their excellent play against a division rival.

Lester and the Red Sox look for their fifth consecutive win against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday.

Boston has won two straight and seven of eight, including a 7-1 win in Friday's series opener.

The Red Sox have won all four meetings from the Devil Rays this season, outscoring them by a lopsided 33-11. What's even better for Boston is that it plays Tampa Bay 14 more times this season.

Lester (1-0, 3.00 ERA) takes the mound for his second start after returning from a battle with cancer. The lefthander was diagnosed with the disease in August and declared cancer-free in December after undergoing six chemotherapy sessions. The 23-year-old, however, still needs to have periodic checkups.

"I'm just trying to put it behind me and move on and just go back to pitching and not worry about things," Lester said.

Lester was impressive in his debut last Monday when he held the Cleveland Indians to two runs and five hits in six innings. He never has faced the Devil Rays.

Tampa Bay counters with James Shields (8-6, 4.44), who has been less than stellar recently. The righthander, who has alternated wins and losses in his last four starts, is just 2-6 in his last eight outings. It's a lot different than the start of 2007 for Shields, when he began 6-0 in his first 13 starts.

In his last start, Shields surrendered a career-high 10 runs, 10 hits and four walks in a season-low 3 1/3 innings in a 21-4 debacle to the New York Yankees.

The Devil Rays have lost seven straight.