BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell waited until all of his players safely made it out of a simulated game on Wednesday before confirming what hed only hinted at before: Left-hander Jon Lester will start Game 1 of the AL division series. "Hes been outstanding in the second half," Farrell said in the clubhouse. "The last couple of starts hes put together for us have been very strong." Lester was 15-8 with a 3.75 ERA this season, but he won his first six decisions and seven of his last nine. From May 20 through the All-Star break, he went 2-6 with a 6.27 ERA. Lester will be followed in the rotation by John Lackey and Clay Buchholz, with Jake Peavy ready to pitch Game 4 of the best-of-five series against Tampa Bay if necessary. The Rays advanced with a 4-0 victory at Cleveland in the AL wild-card game Wednesday night. The Red Sox have not played since finishing the regular season on Sept. 29 with a 97-65 record that tied the St. Louis Cardinals for the best in baseball. In order to stay sharp, the Red Sox held a workout on Tuesday and played a simulated game -- red vs. blue -- on Wednesday. "Today is part of doing what we can to ensure that were prepared, and not letting a four-day layoff affect us," Farrell said. "No ones looking at the layoff as a detriment." Almost 4,000 fans came to the ballpark to hear public address announcer Dick Flavin announce, "Welcome to todays game between the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Red Sox." Children lined up for balloon animals or to have their faces painted while former Red Sox infielder Ted Lepcio signed autographs on the concourse. The blue team, which included most of the regulars, won 1-0 on a first-inning double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "Obviously, it wasnt a real game atmosphere," infielder Will Middlebrooks said, adding that it was good to see live pitching after one day off and another with a more traditional workout. "Today we picked it up a bit. Two days off is a lot for us. You dont want to get too used to that." Lester did not pitch in the simulated game. Buchholz went three innings and allowed one run, Peavy pitched two scoreless innings and Lackey pitched one. "Im pretty glad Im on this side," outfielder Jonny Gomes said after facing his teammates. Most importantly, no one was hurt. Farrell has been reminded this week that in a scrimmage between the end of the 1946 season and the World Series that year, Ted Williams was hit on the right elbow by a pitch in a tuneup game and went on to bat 5 for 25 -- all singles -- in the Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox lost in seven games. No baserunners tried to break up double plays on Wednesday. And, except for a diving catch in right field by reserve Quintin Berry, nothing especially dangerous happened. "I think everyone understands the purpose of today," Farrell said before the game, adding after: "Our pitchers were cognizant of not trying to pitch inside. But we got our work in." Farrell also said on Wednesday that the team will carry 11 pitchers for the post-season. The roster decisions have mostly been made, he said without announcing them; the final rosters are due at 10 a.m. on Friday, the morning of Game 1. jerseys from china . Valpo (22-10), the fourth seed in this years event, also saw Cory Johnson and Howard Little score in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The ninth-seeded Penguins (9-21) were paced by Damian Eargle with 21 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Cheap New York Mets Jerseys . Milos Raonic and Frank Dancevic staked Canada to a 2-0 lead over favoured Spain on the first day of a Davis Cup tie on Friday. http://www.jerseyscheapnfl.us.com/ . -- Canadas Olympic and world ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir lead by just . cheap jerseys from china . Holcomb, the reigning Olympic gold medallist, guided his team of Curt Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Chris Fogt to a two-run time of one minute 48.56 seconds at Canada Olympic Park. Germanys Maximilian Arndt and Russias Alexander Zubkov finished tied for second place in 1:48. Cheap Montreal Expos Jerseys .C. -- Kyle Busch apologized repeatedly Thursday for showing a "lack of judgment" in driving 128 miles per hour in a 45 m. PHILADELPHIA -- Dion Waiters scored 20 points in his home city and No. 1 Syracuse remained undefeated with a 79-66 win over Villanova on Wednesday night. James Southerland added 15 points for the balanced Orange, who are 18-0 for the second straight season. The Orange (5-0 Big East) used a 20-2 run to dominate the struggling Wildcats. Villanova (8-9, 1-4) lost for the fourth time in five games and has put its streak of seven straight NCAA tournaments in serious jeopardy. Mouphtaou Yarou had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats. Waiters looked sharp in the second half after an awkward landing moments before halftime. He immediately grabbed his ankle and hobbled off the court with help from a team official. He sat on the bench for the first four minutes of the second half, stretching with an ankle strap before he returned. He could have rested. The Orange had this win wrapped up by halftime, even as their starting five accounted for only 18 points. Yet, the Orange held a 19-point lead because Waiters, the top reserve in the Big East, had his way with the Wildcats, hitting a pair of threes and scoring 14 points. Scoop Jardine buried a running 31-footer at the buzzer to send a decidedly pro-Orange crowd into a frenzy and Syracuse into halftime with a 43-24 lead. The Wildcats have not been ranked all season and were only picked to finish in the middle of the Big East. But not even coach Jay Wright expected his underclassman-heavy lineup to struggle and his three starting juniors to greatly underachieve. Maalik Wayns, who came in leading the Wildcats with 17.4 points per game, did not score untiil he sank three free throws with 3:42 left in the first half.dddddddddddd The Orange gave Wayns and the rest of the Wildcats nowhere to drive. On one play in the first half, Wayns started from the top of the three-point arc, dribbled into a wall of Orange at the free-throw line, and was forced to dish out. Wayns finished with no field goals and three points. He could share the blame in this one. After Dom Cheek tossed up an airball, Syracuse grabbed the loose ball rebound and Waiters went down and buried a three. Later in the first, Yarou was knocked to the ground and had the ball stripped from his hands. Syracuse took off running and Southerland shot a three. He missed, easily outhustled two Wildcats to the loose ball, stepped back and buried a three during Syracuses game-changing run. Waiters, Jardine and Rakeem Christmas are all Philadelphia natives and there was nearly enough Orange at the Wells Fargo Center to make it pass for a Flyers game. Waiters gave them a reason to cheer in the second half when he intercepted a pass and thundered down the court for a monstrous dunk and a 58-41 lead. He had the same fastbreak dunk for a 20-point lead later in the half and waved his hands toward the crowd for them to get loud. His ankle looked fine -- and so did Syracuse. The last time the Wildcats played a No. 1 team, they beat UConn on Feb. 13, 2006 at the Wells Fargo Center. That game was played in front of 20,859 fans and most of them stormed the court after the win. The upper deck was pretty empty Wednesday night and most of the Wildcats fans departed with about five minutes left. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '