"It's safe to say April is no longer the cruelest month for Jon Lester.

In his fourth start this April, the left-hander won his first game of the season in the Red Sox' 8-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday at Fenway Park, and, more importantly, he continued a string of strong starts in a month that traditionally has been very rough on him.

His ERA now stands at 3.20, nearly half of what it was last year at that time (6.23). He has a .239 batting average against and a 1.14 WHIP.

"It's not like I'm going to go 0-33," said Lester, who improved to 1-1. "Keep grinding it out. I'm throwing the ball well. I think this is like the lowest ERA I've ever had in April. I'm pretty happy with that, throwing the ball early in the season.

"Nothing's changed, I didn't invent a new pitch this year and guys are swinging at it. It's the same stuff, just executing when I have to."

Lester was not at his sharpest yesterday, but when he got in a jam, he usually had the appropriate response.

"I was able to make quality pitches when I had to and get the outs when we needed it and had some good plays behind me — that's always good to see," said Lester, who walked three. "Today obviously wasn't the best control day I ever had. I battled a few things out there with myself, almost feeling a little too good at times."

Lester's five strikeouts moved his career total to 734, moving him past Mel Parnell for fourth place all-time for a Red Sox southpaw. Lefty Grove is next on the list with 743."