BOSTON — Jon Lester is pitching like an ace. Just don't call him that.

The strapping Red Sox left-hander hasn't allowed an earned run in 14 innings this postseason. That followed 5 2-3 shutout innings in a Game 4 win that completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies in last year's World Series.

Ace? That's not a label he seeks.

"I don't think I try to be that," Lester said Sunday before Boston's offday workout. "It doesn't matter to me who's the No. 1 starter and who's the No. 5 starter. We all have equal importance to this team when it comes to winning."

It's Lester's turn on Monday in Game 3 of the AL championship series. The Tampa Bay Rays tapped Matt Garza to face him with the best-of-seven series tied at 1 and the next three games in Boston.

Lester was 11-1 at home this season, including a no-hitter May 19 against Kansas City, and 16-6 overall with a 3.21 ERA. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 22 2-3 postseason innings.

"He's pitching unbelievable right now, and I think he's become our ace," Kevin Youkilis said. "Coming here at home he always pitches pretty well, so we've just got to have him pitch a good game and jump on Garza as soon as we can."

Even if Lester is an ace, the Rays shouldn't approach him differently than any other pitcher, Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena said.

"We understand that whether we're facing Lester, Godzilla, King Kong, we still have to just focus on the fact that we want to have some good at-bats, and if we keep it that simple we're helping ourselves out," he said. "If we start complicating a pitcher like Lester, that's the worst thing you can do."

Lester was a second-round draft pick by Boston in 2002 and kept progressing until he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma.