Boston 3, Tampa Bay 0 -- We All Saw This Coming, Right?

And with that, baseball started to resume its natural order. Jon Lester came out last night and threw what was seemingly his 300th gem of the season, as the hometown boys took down the young Rays, 3-0.

It was a big first inning that got the night started. The marquis names in the middle of the order -- Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay -- did the damage off Tampa starter Edwin Jackson. Though Jackson would calm down to pitch a strong game overall, he couldn't touch the heat, precision and marksmanship of Boston's young southpaw. Lester meticulously carved through the heralded Rays' lineup with ease, tossing 7-and-two-thirds strong innings before giving way to a 4-out save from the venerable Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon punched out 3 in his extended save to bring the Red Sox within a half-game of first-place Tampa Bay.

Tuesday night brings the second game of this three-game set, as the Rays will send tough lefty Scott Kazmir (11-6, 2.99) up against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka (16-2, 2.88). Runs will be at a premium with these two craftsmen on the hill. A win would guarantee Tampa Bay the A.L. East lead by the time they leave Boston.

Written by Dan Zappulla, Vendorball Columnist.