01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 22, 2006

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Thrust onto the big stage with just 11 Triple-A starts under his belt, Jon Lester says he's tried to focus on one start at a time since being called up to Boston less than two weeks ago.

The approach seems to be working well.

In the second Major League start of his young professional baseball career last week, Lester helped the Red Sox end a four-game losing streak.

Yesterday, in his third start, the rookie southpaw helped extend the winning streak that he started five days earlier.

Lester limited Washington to one run on three hits and two walks as Boston won its sixth straight game last night, completing a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 9-3 victory at Fenway Park.

"Things went my way tonight," Lester said. Catcher Jason Varitek "had a great plan going in, and we just exploited it and went after it. My curve ball was a little better, and my cutter was a little bit better tonight. But like I said, we just pounded the zone and went after it.

"Now things are starting to slow down a little bit so I can appreciate things a little bit more," Lester added. "But you can't beat Fenway Park. Pitching here, the crowd's unbelievable and the atmosphere is great."

Lester's 10 strikeouts are the most by a Red Sox rookie since Casey Fossum fanned 10 Cleveland Indians on Dec. 18, 2002.

"What I thought he did so effectively," said Sox manager Terry Francona, "was he made them respect all of his pitches -- the slow breaking ball, the cutter, his fastball, his four-seamer. And they couldn't get a bead on any one of his pitches. He threw them all for strikes. It looks like his fastball's got a little bit, whatever it registers on the gun, it's got that last couple feet where it keeps going, and when it's getting to the hitter and Tek, it's got a little finish to it.

"I was impressed with just the way he handled what we're trying to do with runners on base, hold the ball, throw it over to first. And it looked like he had the game slowed down for him a little bit tonight, and that's very good."

Meanwhile, Boston's hitters continued to bully the Nationals' struggling pitching staff, banging out 16 hits for a total of 46 over the three-day set.

Ten of yesterday's hits and eight of Boston's runs came with two outs, including David Ortiz' first grand slam of the season that gave the Sox a lead that it would never relinquish.

The Sox slugger delivered in the second inning, lofting a blast into the center-field bleachers with Alex Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Loretta on base.

Entering yesterday's game with the sixth best all-time average (.331) in interleague play by any player with at least 300 plate appearances, Loretta boosted that average even more with a 3-for-5 performance against the Nationals that included a single in Boston's four-run outburst in the second inning.

Trot Nixon, who has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, also went 3-for-5, collecting doubles in the fifth and sixth innings to give him four in his last two games.

"It (the offense) is not about one player, it's about the team," Nixon said. "The past three days it seems like the ball's finding the barrel (of the bats) quite a bit. We're able to sit back and enjoy it a bit. We know we have a real good offense. Pitching and defense have carried us, but now it seems like the whole team's in synch."

The Nationals got one run back in the third, when Damian Jackson led off with a double off the left-field wall and scored on Alfonso Soriano's bloop single to right.

Trot Nixon doubled into the center-field triangle to lead off the fifth and scored on Mike Lowell's double-play ball to put the Sox up, 5-1.

Manny Ramirez finally picked up his first hit of the game in the sixth, singling to left to drive in Alex Gonzalez, who had led off the inning with a double.

Nixon followed with his two-run double, then scored on a double by Alex Gonzalez to give Boston a 9-1 advantage.

The Sox' bullpen took over from there with Rudy Seanez, Manny Delcarmen and Julian Tavarez each pitching an inning and giving up just two more runs the rest of the way.

Boston's recent offensive explosions "makes it fun, and it takes the pressure off the pitchers," said Nixon. "They can relax knowing they've got a great defense behind them and that they'll get run support. (And) when you can string them together, whether you get one run or four runs, two-out hits can be a back-breaker (for the opposition)."

cthorn@projo.com / (401) 277-7340