NEW YORK � Jon Lester felt a spasm in his back during his pregame bullpen session.
NEW YORK � Jon Lester felt a spasm in his back during his pregame bullpen session. He felt another spasm in his back in the fifth inning, a spasm that eventually cut his start short.
In between, Lester did what he could to minimize damage against the Yankees. He yielded eight hits in five innings � several of the broken-bat variety � but he didn't allow an earned run. He was in line for his 10th win until Andrew Bailey gave up a game-tying home run to Raul Ibanez in the ninth inning.
"I was executing pitches that broke three or four different bats," he said. "They were just able to hit them far enough out of somebody's range. You know, (that's) kind of my year."
"He really battled through, especially that last inning when his back was bothering him," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "He really stepped it up for us. He kept us with the lead. I really wanted that (10th) win for him. He's definitely earned it."
Lester lowered his ERA to 4.82 on the season, by far the highest mark of his career.
"I'm glad it's over � over for me," he said. "I'll go into a much-needed offseason, regroup, and come back to spring training next year and kick some people's asses."