Lester spotless during spring debut

Jupiter, Fla. - Jon Lester is eager to put last season behind him. His first spring training outing was a good start.

Lester pitched two scoreless, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Lester retired all six batters he faced, striking out one. He needed 24 pitches - 17 strikes - to get through the two innings, six in the second. All but one of Lester's pitches were fastballs.

"It was good to go through the whole routine of getting ready for a game, from stuff in (the clubhouse), to a full long toss, stretch, full bullpen, and then obviously get into a game and get up and down a couple times," Lester said.

Lester struggled in 2012, going 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA - the highest of his career. He's been working to keep his hand on top of the ball during his delivery.

"I was trying to just get my feet under me, get back into the rhythm of pitching, get the ball down in the zone - all the things we talk about that I didn't do last year," Lester said.

That improvement so far has impressed new manager John Farrell.

"He's made some tangible adjustments in camp, and I think those were started last season, and they've carried over into spring training," Farrell said.

• Clay Buchholz will throw a simulated game on Tuesday and if all goes well will make his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.