The midsummer’s night brought us the return of Jon Lester to the Fenway Park mound and he was greeted by a long standing ovation. After the ovation, a pitcher’s duel broke out between Lester and Devil Ray’s starter Scott Kazmir. Kazmir would actually leave the game with a lead and it would stay 1-0 until the 9th inning when Mike Lowell hit a home run over the Green Monster seats. Jason Varitek would follow that with a ground rule double and then come around to score on a Coco Crisp walkoff single. That set off a massive celebration at Fenway. Lester was magnificent in his return to the Fens as he went 7 innings, allowing only 1 run and 2 hits. Even Eric Gagné pitched well in a pressure situation, striking out the side in the 9th while giving up 1 hit. The win over the D’Rays and the loss by the Yankees puts the lead in the AL East at 5 games. The Red Sox will have a quick turnaround as they play at 1:05 PM this afternoon. But before they do, let’s take a look at the headlines and happenings from the Boston and Tampa area media in today’s papers.
Lester and Lowell shine in feel-good walkoff win [Boston Globe]
Rays Can’t Hold Lead In 9th [Tampa Tribune]
Rally caps work for Sox: Lester’s effort not for naught [Boston Herald]
A perfect setup – for failure [St. Petersburg Times]
Lowell Comes Through For Lester With Homer In 9th [Hartford Courant]
Better late than never for Red Sox [Pro Jo]
Rays Facing Deadline To Sign Top Pick Price [Tampa Tribune]
Tavarez a fan of Lester [Boston Herald]
Talks with top pick Price coming down to final day [St. Petersburg Times]
In time, knuckleballer could leave greats in his wake [Boston Globe]
Now, Set Up For Cheers [Hartford Courant]
Lester, like it or not, is somebody special [Pro Jo]
Gagné throws it into reverse [Boston Globe]
Sox choose Varitek’s defense [Pro Jo]
For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.
