Do you remember about a month ago when Jon Lester was struggling? Well he’s doing a great job of making us forget about it (sorry for bringing it up).

Lester dominated the Minnesota Twins in a complete game effort to help the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 win on Thursday night at Fenway Park to help sweep the two-game set.

It’s the third straight win for the Red Sox who improve to 22-20. The Al Central-leading Twins fall to 24-17.

Lester was simply magnificent on the mound in his complete game effort. He need just 103 pitches in shutting down of the top hitting teams in the American League. He mixed his pitches well and had great command of them all. He had 28-of-32 first pitch strikes and 13 of his outs came via the ground ball. Lester ended up allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out nine Twins batters.

His best inning of the night may have come when he struck out Orlando Hudson, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the 7th inning.

Kevin Youkilis knocked in four of the six Red Sox runs, three of them coming via 3-run homer. Victor Martinez had a nice night at the plate as he had three doubles while Adrian Beltre added a solo home run, which was one of his two hits. Darnell McDonald had the other hit and may have set the tone against Francisco Liriano by working a nine pitch walk in the 1st inning.

Beltre’s home run came in the 2nd inning with one out. But the big blow to Liriano and the Twins came in the 3rd inning.

Liriano had gotten the first two outs of the inning but then walked Dustin Pedroia. A double down the line by VMart gave the Red Sox runners at second and third. Then Youk made Liriano pay when he left a ball up in the zone that Youk crushed 429 feet to center for the three-run homer.

It was more two-out magic for Youk in the 5th as his double not only knocked in VMart after the second of his three doubles but it also forced Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire to take Liriano out of the game. Beltre would add the final run of the game for the Red Sox when he came around to score on a passed ball by Mauer.

The Twins first run came in the 8th when Delmon Young brought in Michael Cuddyer on a sac fly. They would add an unearned run after a Pedroia error but it was all for naught as Lester was the man.

With Clay Buchholz going 8+ innings on Wednesday night and Lester’s complete game effort on Thursday night, the Red Sox bullpen will be fully rested for the upcoming three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.  First up will be John Lackey who will square off with Cole Hamels at 7:05 p.m. from Citizens Bank Park on Friday night.

Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox 5.20.10 box score

Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox 7:10 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Francisco Liriano vs Jon Lester TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 5/20 [SOX & Dawgs]

After a strong outing in a win for Clay Buchholz last night, the Boston Red Sox will look to take the finale of a brief two-game set against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Fenway Park.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Twins television market, you can catch the game on FOXSports North. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester will make his 100th career start (101 career appearances) for the Red Sox tonight. In eight previous starts this season, he is 3-2 with a 3.91 ERA. He was the first opposing starter at Target Field on 4/12 and took the loss after allowing four runs in five innings. He’s made five career appearances (four starts) against the Twins in his career and is 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA. He’s made two of those starts at Fenway Park where he has no record with a 4.82 ERA.

After battling through injuries, Francisco Liriano has returned to his 2006 form for Ron Gardenhire. He’s made seven starts in 2010 and is 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA. He’s faced the Red Sox once in 2010, picking up the win on April 15th after throwing seven shutout innings. Overall in his career, Liriano has made three starts against the Red Sox and is 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA. In one career start at the Fens, he is 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA (4 IP/7 ER).

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

Here’s the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers in their careers:

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Lefty Liriano means Red Sox load up on righty batters [Clubhouse Insider]

Ellsbury, Cameron do well in rehab stint [CSN New England]

Red Sox Notes: Beckett frustrated with back situation [CSN New England]

Jonathan Papelbon Working His Way Back to ‘Lights-Out’ Status [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Doubront promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket [ESPN Boston]

Of mice and men … well, Pedroia [ESPN Boston]

Hall: ‘Just go out and be Big Papi’ [ESPN Boston]

Ortiz: Media wrote me off, not fans [ESPN Boston]

Beckett injury may be cause for concern [ESPN Boston]

News and notes from Fenway [Extra Bases]

Cowboy up: Millar joins NESN [Extra Bases]

Yankees’ protest denied [Extra Bases]

Sox promote Doubront to Triple-A [Full Count]

A frustrated Beckett discusses his injury [Full Count]

Notes: Scutaro sits, Sanchez starts at short [Full Count]

David Ortiz on The Big Show: ‘I’m not paying attention to any of [the media’s] crap anymore’ [Full Count]

Red Sox Offer Chance To Get Connecticut Day Tickets [Hartford Courant]

Josh Beckett Frustrated by Unfavorable Conditions at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday [NESN.com]

Theo Epstein Tells Peter Gammons Josh Beckett Shouldn’t Miss More Than 15 Days [NESN.com]

Joe Mauer Stresses Importance of Mentoring, Community Work [NESN.com]

Sox, Pats make Forbes list of most valuable sports brands [Projo Sox Blog]

Lowell in, hot Ortiz sits [Projo Sox Blog]

Angel Sanchez starts in place of Scutaro [Projo Sox Blog]

Delcarmen signs shoe deal [Projo Sox Blog]

One week off didn’t work, so Josh Beckett’s will try two to ensure back is ok [Projo Sox Blog]

Ellsbury on way back? Cameron staying in Maine [Projo Sox Blog]

Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings has a great app out there for iPhone and iPod Touch which has a mullet generator. Given that Theo Epstein was caught in disguise at a Pearl Jam concert on Monday, I figured I’d have a little fun with a picture of Theo using said mullet generator.

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

If you have the app and can make a better picture of Theo Epstein, send it along and we’ll post it here along with a link to your website, if you have one.

If Sony Pictures was ever to make a remake or a sequel to the 2002 Dana Carvey hit, Master of Disguise, they may want to call on Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein to star in it.

We all know Epstein left the Fenway Park offices back on Halloween of 2005 in a gorilla suit. Now his latest disguise was worn to a Pearl Jam concert at the TD BankNorth Garden on Monday night.

As Big League Stew points out, this wasn’t the first time he’s gone to a Pearl Jam concert in disguise. This time around, Theo put on his best fake pornstache and a red trucker’s hat. It also looks like he has a wig of some sorts on as well.

Here’s the picture proof from Big League Stew as well:

The worst part about this is that people were making a big stink about it all. I see no reason why he can’t attend a concert once in a while. My best guess is that people were complaining due to the poor start the Red Sox have had in 2010.

UConn Huskies football coach Randy Edsall doesn’t put much stock into the rankings by the recruiting experts. He just tries to get the best guys that will succeed at UConn. And we won’t even talk about what women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma does in recruiting.  Simply put, the man is a genius.

UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun is no different as he regularly puts together good, consistent recruiting classes. Every once in a while you’ll see a player or two transfer out but you can’t argue with the success that Calhoun has had in developing NBA caliber players.

During this year’s recruiting season, Calhoun lost out on almost all of the top-flight recruits. He was able to secure Roscoe Smith out of Baltimore, Maryland, who was ranked No. 34 in the ESPNU 100. Joining Smith in Storrs will be point guard Shabazz Napier, shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, local boy Tyler Olander, a power forward, and center Michael Bradley.

Those five were good enough to help UConn into the top 20 of ESPN’s Class of 2010 rankings at No. 20. The Kentucky Wildcats came in at No. 1.

Here’s what ESPN Insider had to say about UConn’s class:

UConn added a lot of nice pieces in this group of recruits. The national headliner is Roscoe Smith (Baltimore, Md./Oak Hill) and the long, athletic small forward has the talent to be a star. However, he needs to keep his motor on high and be consistent. Jeremy Lamb (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) is another long and athletic wing and could blossom during his time at Connecticut. Michael Bradley (Chattanooga, Tenn./Tyner Academy) and Tyler Olander (Storrs, Conn./E.O. Smith) are both advanced projects whose best days are ahead of them. Bradley is a long, athletic shot-blocker who is a little raw offensively right now but with great upside. Olander is stronger right now and is a nice high-post player with a solid stroke to 17 feet. Early high school graduate Shabazz Napier (Randolph, Mass./Lawrence Academy) is a surprise addition to the class. Napier can really score and could be instant offense off the bench with the Huskies’ backcourt returning.

A full look at the top 25 schools can be found by using the read more button to the right.

1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. North Carolina Tar Heels
4. Memphis Tigers
5. Syracuse Orange
6. Duke Blue Devils
7. North Carolina State Wolfpack
8. Texas Longhorns
9. Florida Gators
10. Michigan State Spartans
11. Tennessee Volunteers
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
14. Missouri Tigers
15. UCLA Bruins
16. Florida State Seminoles
17. Marquette Golden Eagles
18. Stanford Cardinal
19. LSU Tigers
20. Connecticut Huskies
21. Maryland Terps
22. Baylor Bears
23. Kansas Jayhawks
24. California Golden Bears
25. South Carolina Gamecocks

Clay Buchholz served up just what Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona ordered on Wednesday night as he went 8+ innings in the 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. It really couldn’t have come at a better time as the bullpen was slightly overused in the two-game set with the New York Yankees.

There’s a reason why Francona and the Red Sox wanted Buchholz in the rotation all season and he rewarded their faith last night. He mixed in all of his pitches well and had great command of his fastball. Sure he’ll have some bumps along the way but when he becomes consistent, this is what can expect from him.

After last night’s game, the Red Sox designated Scott Schoeneweis for assignment. At that time, there was no corresponding player move but my best guess would have been a pitcher from Pawtucket like Scott Atchison or Robert Manuel. But that wasn’t the case at all.

It turns out that Marco Scutaro is suffering from a case of tennis elbow in his non-throwing arm and he got a cortisone shot yesterday to help alleviate the pain. He had gotten his first day off in a long time yesterday and it turns out it was well needed. Angel Sanchez will come up from Pawtucket and play shortstop for the next couple of days while Scutaro rests up.

The Red Sox also placed Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with tightness in his back. After missing a start with back spasms, Beckett came back to start on Tuesday night only to slip on a pitch and have his back tighten back up. Beckett will miss two starts while on the disabled list and should start the day he’s eligible to come off the disabled list.

This could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Red Sox as it will allow Beckett to be 100% healthy before returning the rotation plus it’ll give Tim Wakefield a few more starts. Wakefield has been outstanding filling in out of the bullpen and given Beckett’s struggles in 2010, this might not be a bad thing.

And how about David Ortiz! Reports of his demise were just a little wrong as he hit his seventh home run in the month of May last night.

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press websites.