Jon Lester picked a good time to come out with some of the best stuff he's had all year. In the first Red Sox appearance in the new Yankee stadium, Lester was a strikeout machine, punching out ten batters, equalling his career high.

Lester set the tone to start the game by striking out the Yankee side: Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Mark Teixeira all in a row. Clearly, he came out amped up, and ready to tangle with a team he enjoys facing -- and beating.

"I think if you run out to left field, and you're getting warmed up, and you're getting booed, and 'you suck,' -- it's fun. In a lot of other stadiums, you don't get that. You don't get the energy or electricity or whatever," Lester said.

Lester relied on his fastball, cut-fastball, curveball bread-and-butter, and mixed in a sinker every once in a while. He overmatched Yankee hitters for much of the game, sending them back to the dugout again and again. He gave up three runs over seven innings, and got the win.

"I thought that his stuff was terrific. He was as good as I have seen him this year. I thought his stuff was really explosive," manager Terry Francona said.

Lester has had an up-and-down season so far. He has given up five runs three times, but has also thrown seven shutout innings against Baltimore on April 19, and followed that with six quality innings against the Yankees on April 24. His season ERA now stands at 5.40.

One bad stretch threatened to undo all of Lester's good work last night. On consecutive pitches in the fifth inning, he gave up home runs to Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira. Lester took it in stride, saying, essentially, that they were 'good' home runs.

"They weren't up, they were just middle. That was one thing I was actually happy to see -- most of the home runs I've given up this year have been pitches up and out over the middle of the plate," he said.

With the way Lester started out, it seemed clear he was in for a good night. But his catcher, Jason Varitek, said with Lester, his first innings are often deceiving.

"Jonny's a big boy. Jonny a lot of the time can gain strength as the game goes on. You can't always tell right away with striking out the side or anything like that. He still has to command and throw strike one, and get a good mix," Varitek said.

This time, obviously, the early results were right on the money.