The Boston Red Sox were hoping to spoil the Minnesota Twins opening of Target Field on Monday afternoon but instead found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard after Jon Lester struggled.
During early season starts before yesterday, Lester has struggled in his shorts career. He carried a 2-4 record with a 4.94 ERA in March/April starts and yesterday was no better. He allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks but did have five strikeouts.
His main problem though was his command. He was all over the place with his pitches as he was only able to throw 59 of his 107 pitches for strikes. He often found himself pitching from behind and the Twins took advantage of that.
The struggles of David Ortiz continued as he struck out twice although he did have a double and drove in a run. The double he hit should have been caught by Delmon Young as it popped out of his glove after he got turned around trying to catch.
Ortiz is missing pitches that he used to crush out of the ballpark and he’s striking out looking more than he ever has in his career. He made it clear yesterday that his wrist is not bothering him but it makes you wonder if it really is bothering him.
How long Terry Francona decides to stick with Big Papi remains to be seen but with Jeremy Hermida off to a nice start and Mike Lowell on the bench., it could only be a matter of time. We know there’s loyalty there with Big Papi but Tito needs to do something before Big Papi ends up hurting the team, especially with him batting fifth in the lineup.
The Red Sox and Twins are off today and will return back to action on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. when John Lackey and Kevin Slowey will square off.
Keep reading for today’s links from the local Boston media.
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Five Things We Learned: Red Sox running into trouble? [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Lester off target in Red Sox loss [Boston Globe]
Caught stealing? It remains a running gag [Boston Globe]
Taking it — to heart [Boston Globe]
Full disclosure: It truly was an opening day [Boston Globe]
Sox are Twins’ first victims at Target Field [Boston Herald]
Patience preached with Jon Lester [Boston Herald]
David Ortiz’ 1st sign of hope [Boston Herald]
Sore Jacoby Ellsbury sits out [Boston Herald]
Joe Mauer makes an impact on Twins history [Boston Herald]
Lester slow out of the starting gate again [CSN New England]
Red Sox Notes: Some Hope for Ortiz [CSN New England]
Video: Breaking down Ortiz, Lester [ESPN Boston]
Notes: April cruel for Lester [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Twins 5, Red Sox 2 [Full Count]
Video: The Full Count [Full Count]
Forces Conspire Against Red Sox on Opening Day at Minnesota’s Target Field [NESN.com]
Early Returns: Mixed [Nuggetpalooza]
Baseball and blue sky are a perfect match in Twins’ new stadium [Providence Journal]
Another April start, another loss for Lester [Providence Journal]
Red Sox journal: Selig not happy with pace of games [Providence Journal]
Ellsbury may return to action Wednesday [RedSox.com]
Ortiz appreciates Twins’ new ballpark [RedSox.com]
Hermida taking advantage of playing time [RedSox.com]
Red Sox impressed by Target Field [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press websites.
