Boston took the finale of the wraparound series that had four different start times because of national TV demands. The win ensured the third-place Red Sox remained six games behind AL East-leading New York, their standing when the set began.
The Yankees went 3-4 on their homestand. They head to Texas for a showdown between first-place teams.
Lester (12-7) didn’t give up a hit until Austin Kearns singled with one out in the fifth inning, and was lifted for Bard with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh — and Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher due up.
Bard pumped six pitches past the Yankees Nos. 1 and 2 hitters, reaching 99 mph several times while striking them out.
At Baltimore, Brian Roberts hit his first home run of the season leading off the 10th inning, and the Orioles continued their uncanny run of success under new manager Buck Showalter with a victory over the White Sox.
Baltimore is 6-1 since Showalter made his debut last Tuesday. Earl Weaver is the only other manager in the history of the Orioles to win six of his first seven games.
After sweeping three games from the Los Angeles Angels, the last-place Orioles took three of four from Chicago, giving them successive series wins for the first time since July 2009. The homestand was Baltimore’s best since it went 7-0 against Seattle and Texas from Aug. 3-9, 2004.
At Detroit, Matt Joyce homered and the Rays snapped their five-game losing streak with a win over the Tigers.
Tampa Bay got within 1 1/2 games of first-place New York, and Detroit lost for the eighth time in 10 games to stay nine behind Chicago in the AL Central.
David Price (15-5) struggled with his command, walking four batters in five innings, but nine strikeouts helped him allow just two runs.
Three Rays relievers finished, with Rafael Soriano pitching the ninth for his 32nd save in 34 tries. The four Tampa Bay pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts.
Armando Galarraga (3-5) allowed four runs in five innings. Galarraga has only won one of 11 starts since nearly throwing a perfect game on June 2.
At Seattle, last-place Seattle welcomed new interim manager Daren Brown by getting its first triple play in 15 years in a win over the Athletics.
Brown moved up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier Monday when Seattle fired first-time manager Don Wakamatsu after 1 1/2 seasons.
Brown became the 10th of Seattle’s 17 managers to win their first game.
Only one of the other 16 finished their Mariners tenure with a winning record: Lou Piniella. The only manager to take Seattle to the postseason left after the 2002 season with a year left on his contract.
Brown, a 10-year veteran of Seattle’s system, is the team’s sixth manager in the eight seasons since.
At Anaheim, California, Bobby Abreu had three hits and drove in four runs to help the Angels defeat the Royals.
The Angels hung on to win for just the third time in their last seven games after blowing most of a 5-0 lead.
Ervin Santana (11-8) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander struck out three and walked one.
Brian Fuentes retired pinch-hitter Brayan Pena on a fly ball with the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth to earn his 22nd save in 26 chances.
Sean O’Sullivan (0-3) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings in his fourth start for the Royals since being traded by the Angels on July 22. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.
