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BOSTON -- With one ace already on the disabled list, the Boston Red Sox werent taking any chances when their other star pitcher landed awkwardly after a pitch late in the game. By that point, though, Jon Lester had more than done his job. Lester pitched into the eighth inning before jamming his right hip and leaving the game, and Dustin Pedroia homered during a seven-run second to help the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 in the opener of a four-game series Thursday night. "I slipped a little bit. I guess the doctors were kind of calling it a little jammed hip, a type of zinging sensation down my leg." Lester said. "It just didnt feel normal and like I said, at that point in the game, especially with that offence -- they can score some runs in a hurry -- so theres no point in trying to be a hero. Weve got a long way to go the rest of the season." Toronto, which reeled off 11 straight wins this month, had won 12 of its past 14 games and 15 of 19 to close within 6 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Red Sox. Then the Blue Jays ran into Lester. The left-hander retired 10 straight to begin the game and didnt allow a hit until the fifth. But he exited the game with a 7-2 lead after giving up consecutive singles to start the eighth and running the count to 3-0 on Emilio Bonifacio. Farrell came darting out of the dugout as the infielders crowded around Lester. Moments later, Lester walked off the field and Junichi Tazawa came on in relief. "The final pitch that he threw, his landing foot kind of gave way and he jammed his hip," Farrell said. "Given where we were in the ballgame and the number of pitches he had thrown, he clearly had done his job and we werent going to take any chances." It was quite a scare for Red Sox Nation. Clay Buchholz, who is 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA, hasnt pitched since June 8 because of neck stiffness and a sore shoulder. Lester, however, isnt concerned about his leg. He has experienced this before and doesnt think he will miss any starts. "Im not too worried about it. The doctors didnt seem worried about it," he said. "I actually feel fine now. Walking off the field, it just kind of stays with you for a little while, and then after the docs looked at me, I feel normal. Hopefully that will carry over to tomorrow and we wont have to worry about it." The Blue Jays capitalized when Lester left the game, cutting the deficit to 7-4 on a sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes and a groundout by Jose Bautista. Koji Uehara preserved the lead with a perfect ninth for his third save. Lester (8-4) was charged with four runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in winning for just the second time in his last eight starts. "I feel that responsibility to go out there and save the bullpen and thats what we tried to do tonight," Lester said. "Obviously would have liked to give (Tazawa) a little better situation than what he came into, but he kept us with the lead and thats the main thing." After starting the season 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA through his first nine starts, Lester struggled over his past seven, going 1-4 with a 7.30 ERA. He returned to form just in time to face baseballs best team in June -- and Bostons bats provided him all the support he needed. The Red Sox jumped all over Chien-Ming Wang, tagging the right-hander for seven runs while batting around in the second. Wang (1-1) lasted just 1 2-3 innings, allowing all seven runs on six hits with two walks and no strikeouts. "They dropped seven on us," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "Against a good pitcher, you are never going to catch that. Too much to overcome." Lester needed only 30 pitches to get through three innings and didnt allow a baserunner until Bautista walked with one out in the fourth. Melky Cabrera singled for Torontos first hit with one out in the fifth and moved to second on a base hit by Rajai Davis. Maicer Izturis drove them both home with a double to left-centre. Yet it wasnt enough to make up for Bostons blistering start. Wang allowed the first seven batters to reach base during the drawn-out second. David Ortiz and Mike Carp walked, Daniel Nava delivered an RBI single off the Green Monster in left field and Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0. Stephen Drews double to right scored Nava, and consecutive base hits by Jose Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury stretched the lead to 5-0 before Wang even managed an out. It got even worse. After inducing a double play, Wang served up Pedroias fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot that landed in the first row of Green Monster seats and ended Wangs evening after just 45 pitches. "We swung the bats well," Pedroia said. "A lot of guys strung together some quality at-bats. It was a huge inning for us." NOTES: The Red Sox played their 81st game, marking the 16th consecutive season Boston has owned a winning record halfway through the season. ... Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz, on the DL with a neck strain, has been shut down for two to three days with lingering soreness in his right shoulder, according to Farrell. Buchholz (9-0, 1.71 ERA) underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed inflammation in the bursa sac area, but no structural damage. Farrell said he hopes Buchholz will resume throwing this weekend. ... Ellsbury has hit safely in eight straight games and 22 of the past 25. ... Wang fell to 6-7 in 16 career appearances against the Red Sox. ... Toronto RHP Josh Johnson (1-2, 4.60 ERA) will face Allen Webster (0-2, 11.25) in the second game of the series Friday. ... Carp returned to the lineup after missing three games and eight of the past nine with right hamstring tightness. Cheap Air Max China . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially. Cheap Authentic Air Max . - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin has cleared league-mandated concussion protocol and has returned to practice as a full participant. http://www.airmaxchinacheap.com/ . Now, Sarah Burkes legacy will live on in Canadas Sports Hall of Fame. Burke, who tragically died at age 29 from a training accident in 2012, headlined the 2014 class named for induction Wednesday. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia. Air Max China Cheap . Orlov, who scored two goals in the game, was assessed a major penalty for boarding on the play. The Flyers scored once on the power play and again with the extra attacker with 65 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. BELMONT, Mich. -- Inbee Park figures the best defence against the nerves that come with being in the lead is a hot putter. Using a new blade putter this week, Park made two long birdie putts on the back nine Saturday and finished with a 3-under 68 to remain a stroke ahead after the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic. "I feel like I havent holed that kind of putt for a long time and its all of a sudden happening this week," Park said. "This putter, it seems like its going really on line and I feel like Im stroking the ball better this week." The third-ranked South Korean player holed a 25-footer from the fringe on the par-3 14th, bogeyed the par-4 15th after missing a 3-foot par try and rebounded with a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th. The 26-year-old Park won six times last season and took the Manulife Financial in June in Canada for her 10th LPGA Tour title. She had a 13-under 200 total at Blythefield Country Club. "I think it would have been nice if I had probably two- or three-(shot lead)," Park said. "That gives me more breathing room, but one is still better than nothing. Im in better position than everybody else." South Korean rookie Mirim Lee was second after a 67. Norways Suzann Pettersen was another stroke back after a 69. Cristie Kerr matched the low round of the tournament with a 64 to jump 44 spots to a tie for 12th at 5 under. She hit 10 of 13 fairways and had only 26 putts. Park, using a blade putter instead of a mallet for the first time since 2008, birdied the first hole and stayed in front until Pettersen birdied Nos.dddddddddddd 7 and 8 to tie for the lead. The tie lasted one hole before Park rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth. Pettersen birdied the par-4 13th with a 20-footer to tie again, only to have Park roll in the 25-footer from the fringe at 14. Pettersen then matched Parks bogey at 15, also missing a 3-foot par try. Thats when Lee slipped in between the two with birdies at Nos. 15 and 16. Pettersen, who for much of last year was No. 2 in the rankings to Parks No. 1, said she struggled with her game, gusty wind and greens that are firming up. "Overall it was one of those days where you just fight to stay in it," said Pettersen, ranked fourth in the world. "I didnt have the greatest of feels throughout the round. There were a lot of challenges out there, and there will be as many tomorrow and hopefully I can do just a little better." Park, who shot 66 in each of the first two rounds, said it was easily the toughest day of the three. "The wind was quite tricky to me," she said. "I played pretty consistent again, but the golf course was tougher, the conditions harder. I have to stay consistent and keep rolling in some putts." Park knows very little about Lee. "I know shes from Korea and she played on the KLPGA Tour, and I know shes hitting it quite long from seeing it from behind today," Park said. "Except for that, I really dont have much information. Obviously she played quite solid for three days." ' ' '