Did Terry Francona change all the calendars around the Boston Red Sox clubhouse to May and just maybe, Jon Lester noticed they didn’t say April?
Lester’s been horriffic this season and in the months of March and April in his career although in his last start, he didn’t allow a run in 5 1/3 innings. So what would Lester do for an encore on Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays?
Well what Lester did was deliver a vintage performance reminciscent of his past domination of teams.
Lester had all of his pitches working for him as he had great command and location of them. He was able to move the ball around the plate, keeping the Blue Jays hitters at bay as he allowed just one hit over seven innings of work. That hit came in the second inning off the bat of Vernon Wells.
At one point, Lester retired 14 straight hitters before issuing his second walk of the game to Mike McCoy in the 6th. The walk wouldn’t hurt him though just as the one in the first inning didn’t. Lester finished the game with a season-high 11 strikeouts.
So now as we really move into the month of May, the hope is that Lester will build from this start and keep that momentum going in his next start out. Let’s also hope that John Lackey and Josh Beckett can follow what Clay Buchholz and Lester have done the past two nights and get themselves on track as well.
Isn’t it interesting how the game of baseball works?
The Red Sox and Blue Jays combine for 25 runs, 34 hits and 399 pitches on Monday night. On Tuesday, they combine for three runs and last night just two runs. That’s what happens when you get great starting pitching.
But with just four runs in two games, should we be concerned with the Red Sox offense? Or was it a by-product of good starting pitching from the Blue Jays the past two games?
Either way, the Red Sox are playing much better baseball now as they close out the month in Baltimore on Friday.
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Lester in top form [Boston Globe]
Embree: Minor adjustments [Boston Globe]
Since call-up, he’s tattooing it [Boston Globe]
Red Sox recap: Sox break even [Boston Herald]
Underlying problems dog Red Sox [Boston Herald]
Early Jonathan Papelbon back scare [Boston Herald]
J.D. Drew’s numbers escape Ortiz-ian scrutiny [Boston Herald]
Lester brilliant in shutout of Jays [CSN New England]
Quick hits: Red Sox 2, Jays 0 [ESPN Boston]
At 11-11, Red Sox have started over [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 0 [Full Count]
Getting There….. [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]
Sox need to stop steals, or else [Metro Boston News]
Jason Varitek Thrilled With Jon Lester’s First April Win [NESN.com]
Jon Lester Finds His Groove in Win over Toronto [NESN.com]
Francona not shy about pitch counts [Projo Sox Blog]
Lester baffles Jays on one hit over 7 as Sox sweep [Providence Journal]
So far this season, it’s Buchholz who’s pitching like the ace [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Embree settles in — for now [Providence Journal]
Buchholz’s strong outing inspires Beckett [RedSox.com]
Pedroia finds comfort level in two-hole [RedSox.com]
Embree glad to be back with Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Red Sox Must Hit Stride in Baltimore to Prepare for Stretch Against Top Teams [Tom Caron – NESN.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 read the enemy papers, head over to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.
