BOSTON (AP) – Jon Lester retired the first 19 batters he faced and finished with a two-hitter, David Oritz homered and the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-1 on Saturday night.

Michael Young doubled into the gap in left-center with one out in the seventh inning to break up Lester’s bid for a perfect game. The sold-out crowd let out a loud groan as the ball rolled to the wall before giving Lester a standing ovation. Young also singled in the ninth.

Oritz, mired in a season-long slump, connected for the second time this season and first since May 20. Mike Lowell also homered – after having his double overturned by video review.

Lester (5-5), the club’s most reliable postseason pitcher last year when he threw a no-hitter on May 19 against Kansas City, got off to a slow start this year, giving up 11 runs in his first two starts.

But on Saturday, he showed how dominating he can be, striking out 11 and walking just two. It was his third career complete game.

Texas scored on Andruw Jones’ sacrifice fly in the ninth.

In 2006, Lester missed the end of the season after he was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A year later, he was the starting and winning pitcher in the Game 4 clincher of the 2007 World Series.

On Saturday, Lester struck out nine of the first 15 batters he faced, getting four swinging at pitches down outside the strike zone – including the side in the fourth.

The hard-throwing left-hander, once rumored to be possible trade bait when Minnesota was looking to deal lefty Johan Santana, was overpowering early, mixing in a number of sharp curveballs and cut fastballs that made many of the Rangers’ hitters miss badly.

In the fourth, he fanned Ian Kinsler and Jones with curveballs, and Young with a fastball. The pitch to Jones was in the dirt inside the plate.

Lowell was awarded his homer after umpires used video review to overturn their on-field call of a double in the second inning to give Boston a 1-0 lead against Derek Holland (1-3).

Boston chased Holland with a three-run fifth highlighted by Jason Bay’s two-run single to make it 4-0.

Ortiz homered on a line drive just inside the right-field pole for his second of the season to key a four-run sixth against Kris Benson that made it 8-0. Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis added RBI singles.

Lowell’s line drive near the left-field pole bounced first off a ledge in the front row of the Green Monster Seats and caromed onto the field.

The replay review system was used for the third time in four games at Fenway Park. The Red Sox lost the previous two.

Third base umpire and crew chief Jeff Kellogg signaled the ball was in play as Lowell headed to second, but when the umpires returned from the review Kellogg came up from Boston’s dugout steps and signaled that it was a homer.

Notes: Boston RHP John Smoltz, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, pitched six innings for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday night, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in his fourth rehab start. … Texas LHP Matt Harrison, on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, pitched three innings, allowing three hits and one run in a rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Saturday. … Boston manager Terry Francona said RF J.D. Drew’s shoulder “was a little sore” and rested him Saturday and may do so Sunday. … Twenty-three of Lester’s initial 30 pitches were strikes.