It was a tough night for Jon Lester and the Boston Red Sox as they fell to the New York Mets 4-3 in the first game held at Citi Field. Lester didn’t have command of all of his pitches, mostly with his fastball and you have to wonder whether or not the cold, damp weather had anything to do with it. And despite his struggles, he was able to get out of the jams he created by only allowing one run.
“I really couldn’t tell you what was going on, just didn’t really have a feel for my body, for my pitches,” Lester said. “Just one of those nights of battling myself from the beginning. Good thing it’s an exhibition game, so I can walk away from it and not worry about the results. It doesn’t mean anything. In five days, we’ll try to make an adjustment and hopefully do a little bit better.”
Like Lester said, it was just an exhibition game. With pitching guru John Farrell there to help him out, we all know Lester will bounce back stronger than ever when he takes the bump on Wednesday against their AL East rival the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox and the Mets will play again this afternoon at 1:10 PM at Citi Field. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez, Justin Masterson and Daniel Bard are expected to see time on the mound for the Red Sox. The game will be broadcast on the MLB Network and WPIX in New York. WRKO will have the radio broadcast in the Boston area. For those of you who don’t get the MLB Network or WPIX in New York, you can check out the game for free on MLB.tv.
Lester on the wild side [Boston Globe]
Carter spotted opportunity [Boston Globe]
Jon Lester goes wild [Boston Herald]
Red Sox, fans endure New York ballpark envy [Boston Herald]
Youkilis “pretty sick,” but could play Saturday [Projo Sox Blog]
Lester struggles in exhibition finale [Providence Journal]
Sox’ bullpen plans still up in the air [Providence Journal]
Shea goodbye: The Mets’ new park gets a thumbs-up from Red Sox [Providence Journal]
Sox decide Penny will pitch one of next’s weekend games in Anaheim [Providence Journal]
Weak economy puts sellout streak in jeopardy [Providence Journal]
Pitching, offense Sox’s calling cards [redsox.com]
Red Sox impressed with Citi Field [redsox.com]
Pops to perform during opener [Extra Bases]
The AL East is no longer a two-team race [Village Soup]
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz takes Daily News writer to school in card game [New York Daily News]
Red Sox poised for title run this season[Ft. Myers News-Press]
Opening Day National Anthem REVEALED!!! [Red Sox Insider Blog]
David Ortiz Chat Transcript [ESPN.com]
