"Perhaps it's the crab cakes at Faidley Seafood. Maybe it's all the sights and sounds the Inner Harbor has to offer.

Or maybe it's just that pitching at Camden Yards brings out the best in Jon Lester.

"I love this park, it's one of my favorites just to come to, it's real nice,'' Lester said. "Obviously, I look forward to it every time I come here to play. Good mound, real close to the plate. So it just kind of fits me a little bit. It's just one of those deals.''

Whatever the reason, Lester extended his perfect record against the Orioles to 14-0 (2.33 ERA) after last night's 6-2 victory before 21,209. It enabled the 11-13 Sox to conclude their 10-day trip at 6-3 before beginning an 11-game homestand tonight against the Mariners.

Lester, who owns the longest active winning streak by a pitcher against any team, not only remained undefeated against the Birds but improved his season record to 3-1 (2.53 ERA). The lefthander used a good mix of pitches, but relied upon a changeup that held the Orioles to two runs on four hits over eight innings.

"I think we threw a lot more changeups than we normally do and they kept swinging at it, so we kept going to it,'' said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "We got ahead and stayed ahead and we were finally able to get to eight innings.''"