Lester gets a chance to play stopper again tonight at Fenway

BOSTON ? Jon Lester stepped into the stopper role this season for the Boston Red Sox. The young lefthander who has overcome so much in his life thus far was 5-1 after his team had lost the previous game.Tonight, he?ll have to assume that mantle again ? and this time it?s with the knowledge that a loss would send the Red Sox back to Anaheim for Game 5 of the ALDS between Boston and the Angels.Nobody around here wants that. But according to Lester, that?ll be the last thing on his mind.?I can?t worry about us going back to LA or the bullpen situation,” Lester said. “I just have to worry about going out and executing my pitches. You can?t worry about stuff you can?t control.”The Red Sox used six pitchers in Sunday night?s 12-inning, 5-4 loss to the Angels. Last year?s stopper, Josh Beckett, was mortal Sunday, giving up nine hits and four runs over five innings, as he just didn?t seem to have any command or rhythm. Francona went to his bullpen, and it delivered until the 12th, when Javier Lopez gave up the game-winning hit to No, 9 hitter Erick Aybar on an excuse-me, soft single to left with catcher John Napoli (a terror all night, with three RBI on two homers) on second base.So, the bullpen is taxed, with Manny Delcarmon and Jonathan Papelbon having gone multiple innings.?Starting pitching will be at a premium tonight,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “But Lester?s been good for us all year.”If anyone has shown a tendency to go deep into games in 2008, it?s been Lester. Aside from his no-hitter in May against Kansas City, his most important ? and some would say his best ? start came on July 3 in Yankee Stadium, when he went the distance in shutting out the New York Yankees. The win came after the Red Sox had just been swept in Tampa Bay, and the bullpen had been lit up in relief of Daisuke Matsuzaka in the finale of that series.?I think it?s just that extra edge, that extra intensity of the game,” says Lester, regarding his ability to come up big in important games. “I guess that puts you on your toes a little bit more. And being able to go out and execute pitches, and I?ve been fortunate enough to do that.”Lester also came through in Game 1 of this series, pitching seven innings of one-run ball (and an unearned run at that) as the Red Sox clawed their way to a 4-1 win over John Lackey (who is also starting tonight).?Lester threw a terrific ballgame in Game 1 and we?ll have to do a little better job of pressuring him early and getting some guys on,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after last night?s game.Lackey pitched superbly in Wednesday night?s opener, but made one mistake: throwing Jason Bay, who has struggled mightily against breaking pitches in the last month, a fastball that he crushed for a two-run homer. The Red Sox got two more runs in that game off the Angels bullpen.