BOSTON | Maybe this afternoon is when it stops being such a big deal that Josh Beckett is less than his usual dominant playoff self.</p><p>Maybe this afternoon is the next progression in a seemingly never-ending line of Boston&#8217;s money playoff pitchers, from Pedro Martinez in 1999, to Curt Schilling in 2004, and Beckett in 2007.</p><p>Maybe now, as Jon Lester prepares to start game three of the ALCS for the Red Sox against the Rays, he&#8217;s about to be known more for his 97-mph fastball than the lymphoma he whipped two years ago.</p><p>&#8220;Every pitch matters,&#8221; he says.</p><p>Lester&#8217;s made sure of that. He still hasn&#8217;t given up a single earned run in three career postseason starts, including the opener and clincher in the first round against the Angels.</p><p>It can&#8217;t be good news for the Rays that Lester sees them much like he does the Angels, who struck out 11 times and managed just 13 base runners in 14 innings against Lester.</p><p>That Lester is even here now, pitching professional baseball of any kind, is amazing enough. Doctors diagnosed lymphoma two years ago, but found the disease to be in remission after just a few months.</p><p>He made it to spring training in 2007, and worked his way back to the big leagues in July, giving up two runs in six innings at Cleveland. Three months later, he threw 5 2/3 shutout innings at Coors Field in Boston&#8217;s clinching win of the World Series.</p><p>This year, he threw a no-hitter against the Royals on his way to a 16-6 record and 3.21 ERA in a season that would merit more serious Cy Young consideration if not for Cliff Lee&#8217;s otherworldly summer.</p><p>The Red Sox last lost a start by Lester at Fenway Park on April 23. He went 11-1 here with a 2.49 ERA, plus seven scoreless innings at home in the division series.</p><p>He is this team&#8217;s ace now, its stopper, no matter if he welcomes it or not.</p><p>&#8220;You guys can put the labels on it as what you want,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I don&#8217;t worry about that stuff.&#8221;</p><p>Lester will no doubt be the story today, at least in the early parts of TBS&#8217; broadcast. The folks in Vegas will have the Red Sox as a major favorite, leaving Tampa&#8217;s Matt Garza to work outside the spotlight.</p><p>Garza came over from Minnesota along with Jason Bartlett in a trade for Delmon Young last offseason. He went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA in the regular season, and gave up five runs in six innings against the White Sox in the first round.</p><p>Garza understands that most eyes will be on Lester.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s been throwing the crap out of the ball,&#8221; Garza says. &#8220;But my year wasn&#8217;t that bad either. Yeah, these are great pitchers, he&#8217;s had a lot of success this year. But myself on the road, I&#8217;ve had a lot of success too, especially against Boston. I&#8217;ll go in confident like I am and see what happens.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s confidence, peppered with an appropriate bit of delusion, as Garza&#8217;s 4.53 ERA on the road was more than a run and a half higher than at home. Part of that was five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in his only start at Fenway Park.</p><p>Garza can take a pass on this one. There may be no tougher assignment this postseason than facing the Red Sox at Fenway Park with Lester starting.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s getting bigger and stronger,&#8221; Boston manager Terry Francona says. &#8220;If you look at video of him just like from the back, he doesn&#8217;t even look like the same kid anymore. And his confidence has grown. He&#8217;s got a delivery that&#8217;s built for endurance. He&#8217;s turned into a phenomenal major-league pitcher on top of being a phenomenal kid.&#8221;