"As far as Jon Lester was concerned, there was no use mincing words. No reason to sugarcoat it.

When it came to the difference between his first five innings and his last - an ugly three-run sixth - Lester relied on nothing but straight talk to explain last night's 3-2 loss to the Yankees before a Fenway Park crowd of 38,006.

"Just really lost command,'' said Lester, after the lefthander (11-5, 3.23 ERA) gave up three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven batters as the Red Sox fell a game behind the Yankees in the American League East.

"You got to tip your hat to 'em, they did a real good job of being patient that inning,'' Lester said of his unraveling in the sixth. "Threw some pretty good pitches that they laid off. Whether it was a ball or a strike, they stayed within themselves.

"Seemed like the first five innings we dictated both sides of the plate,'' he said. "And in that sixth inning, they did.''

Through the first five innings, Lester was his usual efficient self.

"At that point, he was just throwing a lot of strikes and pitching the way he pitches - cutter, fastball,'' said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He used all his pitches against a really good lineup, a lineup that comes in feeling really good about themselves, and he was fine.''"