Red Sox top Rays to tighten AL wild-card race

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jon Lester rebounded from the worst outing of his career to help Boston tighten the AL wild-card race.

Lester allowed two singles in seven innings and Victor Martinez homered twice off David Price as the Red Sox earned a 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay that enabled Boston to move within 41/2 games of the first-place Yankees and Rays in the AL East standings.

"A big win for us. We just battled, and that's what we've been doing all season long," Lester said. "If we continue to do that, then that will put us in a good position, hopefully, at the end of the year."

This is as close as the Red Sox have been to the top since July 7, when they also trailed by 41/2 games. "We are the three teams that are fighting for first place and the wild card," Boston's David Ortiz said. "Every game is important from now on."

Lester (14-8) walked five and uncorked three wild pitches but also struck out 10.

Martinez hit two-out solo homers off Price (15-6) in the first and seventh. He's 5-for-12 with three homers against the lefthander. Ortiz doubled and scored on Jed Lowrie's two-out single to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the fourth.

"With Price, we'll take any runs we can get any time we can," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "He throws a lot of strikes, he's got velocity, he's got angle on his fastball. That's why he's one of the best in the game."

Lester allowed nine runs in two innings of a 16-2 loss to Toronto at Fenway Park the previous Friday but rebounded well. "Once they got baserunners on, he made some unbelievable pitches," Francona said. "He got some double plays, he got some strikeouts."

Centerfielder Darnell McDonald preserved a 2-1 lead, hustling in to field Jason Bartlett's single and throwing out B.J. Upton, who was trying to score the tying run from second base. "It could have gone either way," Upton said. "It had to be a perfect throw."