Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester became part of club history yesterday. It happened when the Red Sox and Lester lost their game with the Los Angeles Angels. What was the historic mark? It’s the first time in Red Sox history that the team has lost every game of a regular season series of six games or more. It’s not a positive historic milestone but it does fit the tenor of the 2012 season, which has been defined by failure and disappointment.
The news of the history-making moment was announced by the Red Sox press relations department. One thing Bobby Valentine can now lay claim to is the fact that he is the first manager to guide Boston to being swept by one opponent in a season series. What a fitting feather in his “B” emblazoned cap!
It should be noted that Lester (8-11) pitched well. He went the entire game, 8 innings, losing 5-2. In those innings, he gave up 9 hits while walking 3 and striking out 2. The Angeles saw starter Zack Greinke (12-5) go 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He struck out 7, walked 2 and gave up one homer. Lester was on a three-game winning streak but was unable to convert it to a fourth win.
In his first time ever against Albert Pujols, Lester gave up a two-run double. He did that after putting Mike Trout on base with a four-pitch BB and allowing Torii Hunter, who had three hits, to single.
”Struggled early on, getting into a rhythm,” according to Lester. “Battled myself, not locating, not getting ahead. It’s tough when you do that and you don’t face these guys a lot.” He added, “You don’t know, you don’t have a feel what their game plan is going to be. Especially with me, throwing that cutter, you don’t know if they’re going to take it, or they’re looking out over the plate.”
Later Lester said there were “just a lot of variables. After the third I was able to get into more of a rhythm and we were able to slow them down a lot better — a lot of curveballs. If we come out of those first three innings with just two runs, maybe it’s a different ballgame.”
The historic loss comes one day after negative comments made by former Red Sox Josh Beckett regarding Lester and Buchholz and the limited time they may have left with Boston were published in a column by WEEI’s Rob Bradford. However, contrary to what Beckett believes, no one that is a part of Red Sox Nation is celebrating this bad news and unwanted historic milestone in which Lester has been involved.
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