KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bruce Chen can relax a bit -- hes in the win column. Chen, the Royals opening day starter, picked up his first victory of the season Wednesday night as Kansas City held off the Boston Red Sox 4-3. Alcides Escobar drove in the go-ahead run as the Royals solved Jon Lester for the first time in a while. Jonathan Broxton worked around a leadoff single and walk in the ninth inning for his seventh save in eight opportunities. The Royals were winless in Chens first six starts this year, although he had been pitching deep into games. "You try not to think about it," Chen said. "You try not to let it bother you, but at the end of the day you have no wins and its almost the middle of May. "I know Ive been pitching well. I didnt worry. I didnt try to do too much. I trust my stuff, my teammates. Today was a huge win. Even though its in the win column for me, but I feel like the whole team contributed." The Royals finished 4-3 on their homestand against Boston and the New York Yankees. The Red Sox have lost seven of eight. Chen (1-4) gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings while striking out five and walking none. "Thats the first time in a long time I felt like we were firing on all cylinders, facing a guy thats been extremely tough on us," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Clutch hitting, clutch pitching. I thought Bruce threw a tremendous game. They had seven hits and five were off the end of the bat or jam shots that just found holes or hit the line. And to get four runs off Jon Lester was huge. It was good to finally beat him. Hes a guy who has handled us for a long time," he said. The Royals beat Lester (1-3) for the first time since Aug. 8, 2006. The left-hander came into the game with a 5-1 record and 1.30 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City, including a no-hitter in 2008. Escobars double in the fourth Irving Falu, who led off the inning with a double, to put the Royals ahead 4-3. Lesters pitch count rose early with a 38-pitch first inning, but 12 of those were after centre fielder Marlon Byrds error led to three unearned runs. Lester was pulled after 108 pitches and five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk. In the first inning, Byrd misjudged Johnny Giavotellas two-out liner and the ball ricocheted off his glove as he jumped for it. The misplay allowed Billy Butler, who had walked, to score. Brayan Pena then hit a two-run double to left-centre that Cody Ross nearly caught. Ross had his glove on the ball, but it came loose and hit the wall. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine debated Ross held onto the ball long enough -- the umpires held a conference on the field, but did not change the ruling. "It hit his glove, then popped out and bounced off the wall," Valentine said. "Its not a catch unless you get it out of the glove voluntarily." "The ball on Marlon really took off on him. It was tough on Jon -- they scored three runs. Cody went a long way, caught it and popped out of his glove. Hes frustrated. He battled. He wanted to go out and pitch the sixth." Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run double in the Boston third, driving in Byrd, Ryan Sweeney and Dustin Pedroia. Pedroias single extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. NOTES: Chen had not beaten the Red Sox since July 9, 2005, while with Baltimore. ... The Royals called up Giavotella, who was hitting .483 in May and .331 in 31 games with Triple-A Omaha. They placed LHP Jonathan Sanchez on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. ... 1B Eric Hosmer, who is hitting .111 in the past 11 games, was not in the Royals lineup for the first time this season. ... Boston 3B Kevin Youkilis, who is on the disabled list with a lower back strain, is penciled in for some baseball activity Thursday when the Red Sox return home. ... 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Several other Celtics followed, embracing the Houston Rockets coach and expressing their condolences on the death of his daughter before McHale wiped away a tear and headed for the locker room. cheap jerseys . PETERSBURG, Russia -- Top-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia reached the semifinals of the St.Last off-season, Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston told a "Town Hall" gathering of fans at Rogers Centre that he wanted a team that could make the post-season at least three of the next five seasons. Well this season wrapped up with the Jays in fourth. Its great to have realistic goals, but what they really have to do is try to compete with the likes of the four organizations still alive in the playoffs. The Yankees have made it to the post-season 12 of the last 13 years since 2000. Theyre made it to the ALCS seven times and have played in four World Series since 2000, going (2-2). The Detroit Tigers have been to the "promised land" three times since 2000. Theyve made it to the ALCS twice and lost their only World Series appearance to St. Louis in 2006. The Cardinals numbers are almost as good as the Yankees. Nine post-season appearances in 13 years, with seven trips to the NLCS and two World Series wins in three attempts. What makes St. Louis unique, is theyve done all of this with almost a complete turnover of front office and on field staff. including two general managers, Walt Jocketty and John Mozeliak, as well as two managers in Tony LaRussa and Mike Matheny. They also lost Albery Pujols to free agency and keep rolling along. San Francisco has made it to the playoffs five times, the NLCS three times and are (1-1) in the World Series since 2000. Right now, were not even mentioning Boston and Texas which have been to the World Series twice each. Boston (2-0) and Texas (0-2) as well as Philadelphia (1-1). If youre keeping track, those seven teams have accounted for eight of the past 12 World Series titles. Money alone doesnt make a championship team, but of the four teams left this year, St. Louis has the lowest payroll at $110.3 million, which is good for ninth in the Majors. --- I still thinks Oaklands story this year slightly outshines Baltimore. Yet you cant say enough about the way the Os shored up their starting rotation in a relatively cheap, no risk way. They picked up Jason Hammel in a trade with Colorado thatt cost them starter Jeremy Guthrie.dddddddddddd They signed left Wei-in Chen as an International free agent, and Miguel Gonzalez after he was released by Boston. All three made significant contributions. --- When it comes to instant replay, Im generally old school and dont want it to become a dominant part of the game. Umpires usually get the call right and the human element of a controversial call is part of what makes the game so great. But after seeing Jeff Nelson make the incorrect call when the Tigers Omar Infante dived back into 2nd base, and should have been out, I could see each manager being allowed one challenge per game. You dont see these kinds of calls every game and maybe its time we bowed to technology. Better that than ridiculing an ump for making a call on a play where perhaps his view was obstructed. --- The post-season often produces unsung heroes guys who seemingly come out of nowhere to lead their teams to victory. I was surprised to see that the highest batting average all-time in the World Series is held by former player and manager Phil Garner who now works in the As organization. His career mark is .500 in 28 plate appearances. For a single series, Billy Hatcher of the Reds holds the mark after hitting .750 in the 1990 World Series upset of Oakland. --- Within the next three weeks, probably by the 1st week of November, dont be surprised if the Jays acquire a solid starting pitcher. GM Alex Anthopoulos explaining on the Mike Richards show Monday morning, on TSN 1050 that picking up a starter early will set up everything else they want to do in the off season. Alex adding, there are pitchers out there, you wouldnt even expect, and the Jays will be right in the mix trying to get one of more of them. --- Of the four teams left, Detroit has the deepest, and most effective starting rotation. The further into the post-season you get, the bigger a factor that becomes. Thats why the Tigers still have to be the World Series favourites even with the struggles of their closer Jose Valverde. ' ' '