Jon Lester started as the ace of
the staff at the beginning of the year then in the middle of the season just
lost it. With another gem last night, I think
it’s safe to say that Jon Lester has returned to form as the Boston Red Sox
ace.
Last night may have been the best
he’s pitched all season long. Lester
threw 7 innings of one-run ball against one of the best offenses in the league
and struck out a season high 9 batters.
The Sox gave Tigers ace Max Scherzer his second loss of the season with
a 2-1 win on Tuesday night.
Lester’s final line is
impressive. 7 innings, 1 run on 8 hits,
no walks and 9 strikeouts. He threw 111
pitches and 81 were for strikes. He had
command of the strike zone all night and made it a habit of getting ahead of hitters. Jon has now gone six straight games in which
he’s allowed 3 earned runs or fewer.
Over that span, he’s posted a 1.71 ERA and hasn’t allowed a single
homer. What’s impressive about that is
that he’s faced some of the top home run hitting teams in that span, the
Orioles, Tigers and Blue Jays.
There were some dicey moments for
Lester. In the top of the 5th,
the bases were loaded for the best hitter in baseball, Miguel Cabrera. Lester got him to ground out to end the
inning. Then in the top of the 6th,
the Tigers had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs but
Lester was able to strikeout Tuiasosopo and get Pena to fly out to center to
end the inning.
His curveball and cutter were
dancing all night and he routinely stranded runners on the base paths. It was the best I’ve seen Lester all year
long.
The bullpen did their thing as
well as manager John Farrell used 3 arms in the 8th for an out
each. Workman retired the only batter he
faced, Breslow allowed a hit but got the next batter out and Junichi Tazawa
struck out the only batter he faced.
In the ninth, it was Koji time
and he retired all 3 batters he faced, striking out 2 of them for his 17th
save of the season. If there was a Red Sox
MVP this year, it would be hard not to give it Uehara. He’s been a staple in that bullpen whether in
the set-up or closer role all year long.
As predicted, the Tigers ace Max
Scherzer held the Boston bats at bay most of the night. The Sox could only muster 6 hits and only 1
was for extra bases. They were 2 for 9
with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base. They walked 3 times but Scherzer generally
worked out of any jams he put himself in.
All the scoring came in the
bottom of the 5th when Jonny Gomes started a rally with a one-out
single. Stephen Drew then roped a double
to right-field that hopped over the fence which forced Gomes to go back to 3rd
base. David Ross then struck out
swinging and it looked like Mighty Max would work out of the jam. Will Middlebrooks had other ideas though and
lined the first pitch he saw up the middle to plate both Gomes and Drew and
give the Sox the lead.
Jonny Gomes went 2 for 4 with a
run scored; Stephen Drew went 1 for 3 with a run scored, a walk and that big
double. Will Middlebrooks went 1 for 3
with 2 RBI. Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 4
and Mike Napoli went 1 for 1 as he pitch hit for Mike Carp late in the
game. Daniel Nava and David Ortiz would
reach base with walks but that is all the offense they could muster.
Luckily Lester was on and the Sox
would need only 2 runs all night.
They’ll go for the series win
tonight as the Sox send Ryan Dempster (7-9, 4.75) to the mound against Rick
Porcello (11-7, 4.44). Dempster is
coming off a very strong start after being suspended. Porcello has been pretty good in his last 2
starts allowing only 5 runs in 12.2 innings pitched.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Jon Lester. Lester was brilliant on the night. He’s back in the form he was in 2009 when he
was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Shane Victorino. Victorino went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts at
the top of the lineup in Ellsbury’s absence.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Will Middlebrooks’ 2-run single
in the 5th to put the Sox up.
A lead that they would not relinquish.
NEXT
Wednesday, September 4th, at home
vs. the Detroit Tigers.
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