BOSTON – Looking very much like the 2008 version of himself – especially the Fenway Park edition – John Lester shook off the two subpar performances with which he opened this season and showed his strength against the Orioles Sunday afternoon, as the Red Sox won, 2-1.Lester established his tone immediately, with a 94-mph first-pitch called strike to O’s leadoff batter Brian Roberts, and three pitches later striking out Roberts, swinging, on a 96-mph fastball. He struck out the first O’s batter in each of the first five innings.”From the first pitch of the game, he had power behind his pitches,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “He elevated his fastball early. As he got into the game he started throwing that two-seamer, a couple breaking balls, a couple real good changeups. Both the four-seamer and the two-seamer on his fastball were really effective.”The Sox offense didn’t give Lester much room to work with, scoring single runs in the second inning – as Kevin Youkilis, who doubled, scored on Mike Lowell’s single – and in the fifth – when Nick Green doubled and scored on Dustin Pedroia’s single. But, it was all the offense Lester needed.In seven scoreless innings, the Sox left-hander allowed four hits – all singles – and two walks, striking out nine, improving his record to 1-2, with a 5.50 ERA.In his previous two starts, against Tampa Bay and Oakland, Lester pitched a combined 11 innings, allowing 11 runs on 18 hits, including three home runs, and two walks, with 10 strikeouts.”I kept saying that I threw the ball better than the linescore showed,” Lester said of his previous starts. “It was nice (yesterday) to go out and throw the ball well again and get the results I wanted to. It just reiterates in the back of your mind that, ‘OK, nothing is wrong, I’m still OK’ and just move forward.”In nine career starts against the O’s, Lester is undefeated, with a record of 7-0 (2.45), while the Sox are 8-1 in those starts.”He had his breaking ball going,” said O’s manager Dave Trembley. “His velocity was better than we had seen from him the last time he pitched in Oakland. That’s how I’ve seen him before with that kind of velocity, 93 to 95. So, his velocity was good on his fastballs. His breaking ball was very good and I think that was his out pitch (yesterday).”Lester worked with catcher George Kottaras in a game for the first time since spring training, and in the regular season for the first time since the left-hander made rehab starts in Triple-A Pawtucket in 2007.”He was great, had great stuff (yesterday), great poise on the mound, attacking the hitters,” Kottaras said. “He was able to throw his off-speed (pitches) in fastball counts and really attack the zone and get the hitters swinging.”Of Lester’s nine strikeouts, he got O’s batters swinging for seven punchouts – six on fastballs that ranged from 88 to 96 mph, and one on a 79-mph curveball.”I think making adjustments was the biggest thing today,” he said. “I struggled with my curveball early on, and just kept not worrying about the result of it, and just kept trying to throw it and get a feel for it. And it definitely helped out in some big situations.”One of those situations was in the sixth inning, when he struck out Nick Markakis, the O’s No. 3 batter, who entered the game hitting .357, looking at a 78-mph curveball – the seventh pitch of the at-bat – with one out and runners on first and second.In 17 starts last season at Fenway, Lester posted a record of 11-1 with a 2.49 ERA. The lone home loss in 2008 was in his first Fenway start, falling to the Tigers, before going undefeated in his next 16 starts.”It’s nice pitching at home,” Lester said. “Like I’ve always said, sleeping in your own bed and your own routine. You know how to get to the ballpark here in your own car. Don’t have to worry about a cab or traveling or anything. So, it’s always nice pitching at home. With that being said, I’m not going to, on the road, try to go do too much, just try to make the numbers bett