Red Sox, Celtics Give Boston One Of the Greatest Weeks Ever

This was supposed to be a day to take a deep breath for Boston fans. Kansas City was in town, and it was a cool and windy night, and most were looking forward to Tuesday night and the Pistons coming to the Garden. Jon Lester would have none of that.

While the wind definitely helped Lester – the Royals leadoff hitter crushed one of Lester’s first pitches to deep left, but the wind was blowing in, and the shot barely made the warning track, falling harmlessly into Manny Ramirez’s glove – it was his pitching that had people talking.

Throughout his nine-inning performance, especially from the third inning on, Lester kept the Royals off-balance with an array of curveballs and breaking pitches mixed in with his fastball that topped 97 miles-per-hour on the NESN radar gun.

As the innings came and went, one thing remained: a zero in the hit column for the Royals. And a buzz started circulating at Fenway, and ESPN starting updating viewers of Lester’s progress. After the eighth inning, the park was electric, and Lester was sailing. ESPN cut into its coverage of the Cubs-Astros to show Lester’s ninth inning.

He walked the leadoff guy, more probably because of nerves and the moment he was in than anything else. He got the next batter to hit a high chop to Mike Lowell at third, and followed that with a ground out to Youkilis at first. With two outs, the nation watching and the Fenway faithful on their feet, Lester finished off his no-hitter with a strikeout on a 96 mph fastball, turning an ordinary Monday night into a memorable one.

Looking ahead, there are some exciting days ahead for Boston fans. Tonight begins the Eastern Conference finals against hated rival Detroit, and prized pitching prospect Justin Masterson makes his second career start for the Red Sox.

On Wednesday, Bartolo Colon, the former Cy Young Award winner and 20-game winner, makes his Red Sox debut. The Pistons and Celtics play game two of their series on Thursday and continue with games three and four over the holiday weekend.

Just another exciting week in Boston sports history. And, amazingly, none of it includes any team from New York, which may show just how far Boston sports – and the Red Sox – have come.

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