Lester strikes out five in second solid outing
Left-hander allows one run on two hits over four innings; Gomes hits first homer
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In a Grapefruit League duel between two of the most accomplished lefties in the game, Jon Lester and Cliff Lee both turned in strong performances for their teams on Saturday night.
The Phillies, helped mainly by offense following Lester's departure, went on to a 4-1 victory at JetBlue Park.
Lee mowed the Red Sox down over five shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out three.
"Really, everything was working well tonight," Lee said. "I was throwing curveballs for strikes early in the count, had a good changeup, throwing cutters for strikes, locating fastballs. So really everything was right where I wanted it to be."
And in typical Lee fashion, he worked at a fast pace.
"You find yourself trying to match his rhythm and tempo and all that. It's one of those deals, he's special because of that," said Lester. "I don't think anyone can replicate it. It's his style and it's worked for him for a long time. You have to go out there sometimes and say, 'Slow down, you don't need to be Cliff Lee and go that fast.' At the same time, it helps you speed up too. It's fun to watch a guy like that, especially how well he throws strikes with everything."
Lester, making his second start of Spring Training, allowed a run on two hits over four innings, walking one and striking out five. Boston's likely Opening Day starter threw 68 pitches, 44 of them for strikes.
Red Sox sinkerballer Burke Badenhop was on the mound when the Phillies scored three runs in the top of the fifth.
Lefty Chris Capuano fired three perfect innings for Boston, striking out two.
Ben Revere (RBI double) and Marlon Byrd (RBI single) came up with the big hits.
Byrd also came through with an RBI double against Lester in the top of the first.
Jonny Gomes put the Red Sox on the board with a towering solo homer over the Green Monster in the bottom of the seventh.
Up next: Right-handed prospect Allen Webster will make the start for Sunday's 1:05 p.m. ET game at Port Charlotte against the Rays. Drake Britton, Rich Hill and Francisco Cordero are scheduled to work out of the bullpen. David Ross, Mike Napoli, Will Middlebrooks, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mike Carp are among the position players on the travel squad. The game will be available on MLB.TV.