The Boston Globe reports that Jon Lester has been named the player of the week for May 19-25. On May 19 against the Royals, Lester became the 18th pitcher in Red Sox history to throw a no-hitter. The 24-year-old left-hander threw 130 pitches and struck out nine batters on the night. He also earned both his first complete game and shutout.

Lester's dad suffering from cancer

Six days after he held Kansas City hitless, Red Sox SP Jon Lester's hopes for a second straight no-hitter ended with the first batter he faced Sunday at Oakland. Jack Hannahan that leadoff single -- one of seven hits off Lester, who allowed three earned runs in five innings, walking two and striking out three. The Red Sox limited him to 94 pitches after allowing him to throw 130 in the 18th no-hitter in club history. He lost, falling to 3-3.

Lester takes loss in first start since no-no

Lester's father fighting cancer

Athletics SP Justin Duschscherer joked about throwing a no-hitter like Jon Lester before Saturday's game against the Red Sox. A few hours later, he nearly did it. "I said, 'Those guys don't want none of me today 'cuz I'm going to pull a Lester on 'em," Duchscherer recalled with a grin. "In the sixth inning, I was thinking, 'Did I really say that before the game?"' He had a perfect game going into the sixth before he plunked Jason Varitek to start the inning. David Ortiz broke up the no-hit bid with a single up the middle with one out in the seventh, and Duchscherer said he was "a little deflated." Duchscherer struck out four and didn't issue a walk in eight innings, allowing just that one hit.

According to The Sports Xchange notes: Jon Lester harnessed a powerful fastball in the latter innings that rattled off radar gun readings of 95 and 96 mph. When was the last time Lester remembers being armed with a fastball like that? "A long time ago," said Lester, who is 3-2 with a very respectable 3.41 ERA in 11 starts for the Sox this season. "I'd say all the way back to 2005. It's been a while to where I could sit there and go, 'I'm going to rear back and throw this one a little harder,' and then actually get it." "This year I'm just physically stronger," added Lester, who rang up a career-high nine strikeouts during the no-hitter.

Royals DH Bill Butler fared better than most of his teammates Monday at Boston as Red Sox SP Jon Lester threw a no-hitter. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts, his modest five-game hitting streak coming to an end.

Red Sox SP Jon Lester threw a no-hitter Monday against the Royals, walking two in his first career complete game. He struck out eight while throwing 130 pitches, including Alberto Callaspo to win the game. "Really, words can't describe it right now," Lester said. Lester, who missed the end of the 2006 season after he was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, met manager Terry Francona met for a long, hard embrace. "He just said he was proud of me," Lester said. "I've been through a lot the last couple of years. He's been like a second dad to me. It was just a special moment right there."

Red Sox SP Jon Lester threw a no-hitter Monday against the Royals, walking two in his first career complete game. He struck out eight while throwing 130 pitches, including Alberto Callaspo to win the game.

Lester pitches no-hitter versus Royals

On Wednesday, Jon Lester extended his scoreless innings run against Baltimore to 12 before the Orioles broke through in the sixth on a run-scoring groundout by Jay Payton and an RBI single by Nick Markakis.

Red Sox SP Jon Lester labored through 5 1/3 innings of a no-decision Friday at Minnesota, giving up eight hits and five runs -- three earned. He struck out two. The start was a statistical regression from Lester's last two starts, over which he yielded only one run and five hits in 14 innings and struck out 11. But Lester walked only one after issuing seven over his last two appearances. "A lot of good. A lot of positives. Every start something goes in the right direction," Lester said. "I don't think I took any steps back tonight. I threw a lot of strikes and executed a lot of pitches I wanted to."

Jon Lester pitched six innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, spoiling the return of Rays ace Scott Kazmir. Lester (2-2) allowed a run and four hits with three walks. "It's fun when you see young guys take some of the things they work on into a game and have success with it," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "It allows your offense time when you're not battling back from a deficit." His 13-inning scoreless streak was snapped when Carlos Pena hit his seventh home run of the season, cutting Boston's lead to 4-1 in the sixth. "He's taken steps to be a more complete pitcher," Sox captain Jason Varitek said of Lester. "We've added some stuff to his repertoire and he's expanding what he can do."

Lester beats Rays with quality start