I’m starting to think the Sox not
getting an extension with Jon Lester is going to hurt them in the long run as
he continues to dominate this season.
Lester pitched his best game of the season and possibly the best game of
his career next to his No-Hitter, Saturday afternoon as the Sox take game 2 of
the series by the score of 6-3.
Jon Lester went 8 innings,
allowed only 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out a career-high 15 batters in the
game. He started off the game throwing
darts, retiring the side in order in the first inning on only 9 pitches, 8
strikes with 2 strikeouts.
It was the 18th career
game for Lester with double-digit strikeouts which tie him with Smoky Joe Wood
for 3rd on the Sox all-time list, behind Pedro Martinez (72) and
Roger Clemens (68).
He would strike out the side in
the 8th to complete his outing and give the A’s a chance as they had
nothing against him. It was the most
dominate I can remember Lester being in the last couple of years.
The bullpen did their best to
scare the living daylight out of all Red Sox fans. Chris Capuano cam in for the 9th
and failed to retire any of the 4 batters he faced as he allowed 3 hits and 3
runs, though only 2 were earned. It was
the first time he hasn’t looked sharp all year long and let’s hope he just had
a bad outing. Capuano was my pick to
come into the starting rotation if Felix Doubront keeps struggling but days
like this make me start rethinking that situation.
Koji Uehara had to be summoned out
of the bullpen to knock down his 7th save of the year but he wasn’t
too sharp either as he walked one and struck out 1 but needed 17 pitches to get
the final 3 outs. Not very Koji-like.
Offensively, the Sox managed only
6 hits off the A’s, luckily 3 of those hits were homers and all 6 runs were courtesy
of the long ball.
In the first inning, Pedroia led
off with a walk, Bogaerts singled and Ortiz walked to load the bases. Mike Napoli struck out and it looked like the
Sox would once again squander a golden opportunity but Jonny Gomes blasted a
Tommy Milone curveball over the Green Monster seats for a grand slam. It was the 2nd grand slam in as
many days against the A’s and the first time the Sox have done that since 1999.
The Sox were not done, as Ortiz
led off the 3rd with a solo homer and David Ross would also chip in
his own solo homer in the 4th.
It was the 379th career homer for Ortiz as a Red Sox player
tying him with Dwight Evans for fourth all time on the franchises list.
Thank goodness for the homers
because the Sox could do little else.
They did walk 4 times but as I said earlier managed only 6 hits and were
just 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position, leaving 4 men on base.
Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 3 with
a run scored, walk and a double, his 11th of the year. Xander Bogaerts went 1 for 4 with a run
scored, Ortiz had a hit and a walk and Will Middlebrooks went 1 for 4 on the
afternoon. Mike Napoli and Grady
Sizemore both walked once time each.
Lester showed how important he is
to the Red Sox and they’ll surely have to open up their wallets if he continues
to dominate like he did last night. It
was great to watch and I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store in his next
outing.
The Sox will go for the sweep on
Sunday as John Lackey will take the hill against the A’s ace so far this season
Sonny Gray.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Jon Lester. Lester completely dominated a good A’s
hitting team Saturday afternoon setting a career high in strikeouts with 15.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Grady Sizemore. Though Sizemore walked once, he also went 0
for 3 with 2 strikeouts and is now batting .205.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Gomes’ grand slam in the 1st
inning. It would prove more than enough
for Jon Lester.
NEXT
Sunday, May 4th at home vs. the Oakland
Athletics.
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