BOSTON – Jon Lester provided one brief opening for the Yankees last night and then slammed the door abruptly.

Nobody out, bases loaded for the Yankees in the fifth inning, two runs already across. Lester remained composed, retiring Alex Rodriguez, Xavier Nady and Robinson Cano in succession without another run scoring, a Red Sox momentum builder for sure in their 9-2 victory at Fenway Park.

Lester (9-3) struck out eight and walked one over seven innings, allowing nine hits, to get his second victory over the Yankees this month. On July 3 in The Bronx, the lefty f ired a complete game shutout, allowing only five hits in the process.

Lester might have come close to matching that performance last night if not for a rocky fifth inning. Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter stringed together four straight singles and Bobby Abreu walked to give the Yanks a second run before Lester got the three straight outs, the biggest of which was Rodriguez’s line drive to Mike Lowell.

“After I got the A-Rod out, I kept telling myself that I was one pitch away from getting out of the inning,” Lester said. “They battled. That’s what the Yankees do.”

The Red Sox have an ace in Josh Beckett, and Lester may not be far behind. Lester’s last loss came on May 25 at Oakland – six days after he threw a no-hitter against Baltimore – and he leads the major leagues with six scoreless outings of at least six innings.

The Yankees were essentially finished after their flurry in the fifth.

“They bunched four hits together, but [Lester] limited the damage and then he goes back out there and gets through seven,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Lester indicated his two victories against the Yankees in 3 ½ weeks have been a confidence booster.

“Any time you can get a couple of wins against that lineup, it helps,” he said. “It was definitely a team effort tonight . . . it definitely felt like a different atmosphere in the dugout. Guys were laughing, having fun. We scored some early runs, which really helped.”