BOSTON –– It still didn’t seem real for Jon Lester less than 24 hours after he pitched a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox.

The 24-year-old left-hander tossed the 18th no-no in club history and he is still trying to make sense of it all.

He received a ton of e-mails, phone calls and text messages to congratulate him on his historic Monday night against the Royals at Fenway Park.

Through it all, the Red Sox’ left-hander still hasn’t had time to relax and let his accomplishments sink in.

“Not yet,” he said yesterday afternoon. “It’s probably one of those things that I’ll get to enjoy a little bit later on.”

Lester spent most of the day talking to his parents and actually got to say hello to fellow cancer survivor Lance Armstrong during an ESPN SportsCenter standup from Fenway yesterday afternoon.

After he met with the local media, Lester said he would be interested to see how he felt this morning after a career-high 130 pitches during his outing.

“Physically I’m tired from not sleeping,” he said. “Right now it’s just kind of the normal soreness and it’ll be nice because we get an extra day with the way the rotation is set up. I don’t have to do anything today and I’ll get back to my normal routine (on Wednesday).

He said he’s always thought about the possibility of throwing a no-hitter, but after becoming the winning pitcher in the clinching Game Four of last year’s World Series, Lester couldn’t have imagined it would get any better. It did Monday.

Artifacts from Monday night’s game are headed for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Lester’s cleats, along with catcher Jason Varitek’s entire set of gear he wore will be on display in the Hall.

Colon is up next

It was the worst-kept secret in Boston over the last couple of days, but Francona finally made it official last night. Bartolo Colon will make his Red Sox debut against the Royals tonight. The Sox signed the veteran right-hander at the start of spring training and he was outstanding throughout camp. Colon begin the season in Pawtucket and after a solid Opening Night start at McCoy Stadium, he injured his oblique and went 36 days in between starts for the PawSox. Since his return to the rotation he’s been outstanding, allowing just one earned run in three starts (14 innings) to post a 2-0 record with a 0.64 ERA.

“We spent a lot of time getting him ready,” said Francona. “He’s done a good job of getting ready and we’re looking forward to it.”

Okajima not sharp

Hideki Okajima hadn’t pitched in five days, shut down because he had a sore wrist and the Red Sox wanted him to rest it. The injury came to light a day after Okajima surrendered a game-losing grand slam in Baltimore. He played catch on Monday and yesterday, and was called on to protect a 2-1 lead in the eighth.

Okajima, though, didn’t look sharp. The first batter he faced, David DeJesus, yanked a leadoff ground-rule double into the right-field seats. After a groundout pushed him to third with one out, the left-hander walked Alex Gordon, struck out Jose Guillen but walked Mark Teahen, filling the bases and prompting Francona to call for Jonathan Papelbon.

Around the horn

Coco Crisp, whose ground-rule double delivered what proved to be the game-winning run in the second, is batting .321 with five extra-base hits in his last nine games. … Alex Cora was used as a late-inning defensive replacement at shortstop for Julio Lugo for the third game in a row. … Kevin Youkilis has hit in 15 of his last 16 games at a .394 clip (26-for-66) with two doubles, seven homers, 19 RBI and 15 runs scored over that stretch. … Sox outfielder Brandon Moss has played three extended spring training games at the club’s minor-league complex in Fort Myers, Fla. He underwent an emergency appendectomy earlier this month. … Also, pitcher Curt Schilling continues his throwing program. He recently stretched out to 100 feet.

smcadam@projo.com