In his first start of the season, Jon Lester pitched six solid innings for the Red Sox in their 6-2 win of the Cleveland Indians. Lester returned to Boston’s rotation after being diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, called anaplastic large cell lymphoma - a rare, but treatable form of cancer. This was his first major league start in 11 months, as he was diagnosed in late August of 2006.

“It felt real good,” said Lester. “A lot of emotions, a lot of excitement. It’s been good to be back with these guys again and being able to play up here again. I think once my first pitch went, after that it settled down and started to calm down a little bit and I got everything in check.” There were a lot of emotions, both from a large contingency of Red Sox fans in Cleveland, as well as from Indians fans who cheered for Jon as he warmed up in the bullpen.

In his 6 innings, Lester gave up 5 hits, 2 earned runs 6 strikeouts and 3 walks (Grady Sizemore’s 2 run Homer was his only real blemish). “As we’ve seen before, he doesn’t give in,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He made pitches. He just really competes. Keeps his composure.”

The emotional win, may be what the Red Sox need right now, having begun the second half of the season at 6-5, before last night’s win against the Tribe. The rotation has been struggling as of late, with the absence of Curt Schilling and the recent downward spiral of Julian Tavarez. Schilling has made some huge strides in his comeback from shoulder tendinitis, and should be back in the rotation soon. This should leave Boston with the solid starting five that they’ve been just shy of so far this year.

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