Lester's goal was to strike first

Jon Lester struggled early against the Rangers but rebounded to pitch into the seventh inning, finishing with a season-high 107 pitches. (David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

It was a 1-and-1 pitch, a fastball away that came back up and more to the middle than Jon Lester would have liked, but as soon as it cleared the Monster, Lester was fine with it.

After Josh Hamilton banged his fourth home run of the year with two outs in the first inning of the Sox' 5-3 win last night, Lester thought, "So be it."

If he was going to pitch, then he was going to pitch.

That meant throwing strikes and attacking hitters, even if it meant getting hit.

Lester was touched 10 times in 6 1/3 innings, the most hits he had allowed since he gave up 10 against the Angels two years ago, and he didn't much care.

"My mind-set going into the game was they're going to beat me swinging the bats," he said. "I'm not going to give these guys any free passes. So if that meant throwing the ball down the middle, then that's what I did."

Did he pick up the win? No.

Javier Lopez got it for getting one out to end the eighth. Lester's record is stuck at 1-2. But last night was his second-longest start of the season, after a 6 2/3-inning outing in Oakland April 2, and Lester called it "a big step."

More than once, Red Sox manager Terry Francona started getting pitchers warm in the bullpen - Julian Tavarez, Lopez - but whenever it looked like he'd have to make a move, Lester made the decision for him.

"We had Tavarez warming up in the third," Francona said. "And you look up and [Lester's] pitching the sixth."

Francona said he's used to it.

"When he first came up, we saw him do that," he said. "He'd get himself into trouble, and he'd compete, and find a way to get out. He competed tonight and didn't give in."

The difference may be in Francona's trust, something Lester felt when he went back out for the seventh.

"Tito let me go out there even though I had a lot of pitches," said Lester, who left after throwing 107 pitches, the first time he's topped 100 this season. "Honestly, coming in after the sixth, I thought I was done just because in the past I haven't really been allowed to go that many pitches. He didn't say anything to me so I went back out there and took the same approach."

The last time a Sox pitcher gave up 10 or more hits in a start and gave up only three runs was when Bronson Arroyo did it in 2005. Lester's not saying he wants to give up hits, but if he had his choice, he'd rather lose because batters beat him.

"Like I've told people before, I'd rather get whacked around the yard than give up walks," he said. "I'd rather give up 10 runs and give up 15 hits than walk six guys and lose, 3-2."

Still, he hasn't won a game since that start in Oakland and in every other start before last night he gave up four earned runs. Yesterday was a big step, but it was one of many he hopes to take this season.

The goal is to attack the strike zone and get first-pitch strikes (he threw them to 11 of the 31 batters he faced). Lester struck out five and on each one he threw first-pitch strikes.

Before last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka was saying a lot of the same things about aggressiveness and first-pitch strikes. Lester said it goes for any pitcher.

Getting ahead is crucial, Lester said. "It doesn't matter how hard you throw or how good of stuff you've got, it's going to come back to hurt you."

Francona said there was room for Lester and everybody on the roster to get better, but Lester last night felt like he did a little bit to close the gap even though the box score may not have shown it.

"We won," Lester said. "That's the main thing. We came back in the eighth inning, put a good rally together, and scored some runs. That's the main thing."