Lester's Remarkable Start Derailed, Red Sox Offense Missing

by Ben Buchanan on Jul 25, 2010 1:39 AM EDT in Game Stories

SEATTLE - JULY 24: Starting pitcher Jon Lester #31 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Michael Saunders #55 of the Seattle Mariners to break up a no-hitter in the sixth inning at Safeco Field on July 24 2010 in Seattle Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

It's hard not to think about what could have been.

Jon Lester, after sitting down the first 16 batters he faced, gave up his first fly ball of the night to Jack Wilson. Eric Patterson ranged to his right, put his glove on the ball...and let it fall to the ground.

Pitching out of the stretch for the first time in the game, Lester hung a 2-2 curveball just a little high in the zone. That second fly ball left the park.

It sounds ridiculous to talk about a perfect game opportunity like this when it was lost in the sixth inning, but that's just a testament to how dominant Lester's stuff had been to that point. He threw strike after strike. The Mariners took deceptive pitches in the zone for strikes, and missed on pitches out of the zone that they had no real shot to hit. When they did make contact, it was weak and on the ground.

Unfortunately, the final line gives only the one hint that this was the Lester we saw tonight--the 13 strikeouts. With the perfect game lost, and trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, things came further undone for Lester. Entering the inning with 99 pitches, it was a different Lester we saw, allowing three hits and his only walk of the night. Manny Delcarmen proved entirely incapable of putting out the fire once again, walking a runner and then bringing in a run by hitting Jose Lopez before finally getting out of the inning with the final score of 5-1 on the board. Ultimately, Lester was left taking the 7.2 inning loss with four earned runs.

Not that they needed that many. Indeed, Lester would have had to be nearly perfect in order to walk away with the win tonight thanks to an inept Red Sox offense. David Ortiz' solo shot to right provided them with their lone run as the Sox stranded seven baserunners on the night. What do you expect, though, with players like Patterson and Jeremy Hermida batting second and seventh respectively?

A Rays win puts the Red Sox back to four down in the wild card race as the trade deadline gets closer and closer.

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Comments

Why do we have both Hermida and Patterson on this team?

Nava would be an upgrade over these guys.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on Jul 25, 2010 8:21 AM EDT reply actions

Damning with faint praise

Who wouldn’t be an upgrade over these guys? Besides Hall, I mean. (And why is he on the team too?)

by RSNexile on Jul 25, 2010 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Because Mike Lowell was still clogging up a roster spot.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on Jul 25, 2010 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions

He isn't now

He’s in Pawtucket right now. And maybe not for long — ESPN is reporting the Tigers are interested in a trade now that Inge is on the DL.

by RSNexile on Jul 25, 2010 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

I'd like to see this.

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on Jul 25, 2010 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Me too

Lowell isn’t doing us any good right now, and he isn’t going to do us any good this year. Might as well trade him for whatever we can get, and so much the better if he can close out his career actually playing.

by RSNexile on Jul 25, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Lester looked so very good

that I was thinking no-hitter by the end of the second inning. And I never think that- like Lackey’s last start, for example, it didn’t even occur to me that he had a no hitter going until the 8th inning started.

by wolf9309 on Jul 25, 2010 8:42 AM EDT reply actions

The Sox hitters just didn't look like the Sox hitters

They looked like hackers. There was a lot of swinging at first pitches and a lot of chasing obviously bad pitches. It’s no wonder these guys aren’t getting clutch hits — they’re swinging like a bad Little League team instead of the patient team that puts a lot of runs on the board by forcing the other team to throw strikes.

by RSNexile on Jul 25, 2010 9:28 AM EDT reply actions

I still feel sick....

That was some of the best pitching I had ever seen and it fell apart like that…. Man, Lester is still at 11 W’s. He hasn’t had one since the All-Star break has he. Thank god Vmart should be back Monday. Then Pedroia in another week or two. Should start winning some games.

I love Lester and Pedroia!!! ITS MAN LOVE!

by kraken613 on Jul 25, 2010 11:09 AM EDT reply actions

124 pitches?

I know the ’pen had been overworked lately, but…

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on Jul 25, 2010 11:30 AM EDT reply actions

Lowrie and other things

  Is it me or does Jed look like Dark Helmet from Space Balls when he’s standing in the batters box. Another sign of bad karma for this team; You can’t have a guy who looks like Dark Helmet from Space Balls on your teaam when you’re trying to be competetive.
  Seriuosly though. Was anyone really that surprised at the outcome last night? With all of Lester’s brilliance he still only had a one run lead. And the homer that he gave up was a big time indicator to why I think he is still not an elite starter. He had two strikes on the batter. You need to be able to make big pitches when it matters the most and he still has trouble doing this.
  I’m starting to think that we have already dug ourselves a hole that we are not going to get out of even after Pedie and V Mart come back. We fell another game back in the Wild Card race. This team just hasn’t put it together this year. It started with the terrible April; Ellsbury , Beckett, and Cameron’s early departure; the terrible middle relief; and then the other other huge injuries from the San Fran series. We simply don’t have the talent to compete right now and it’s very disappointing because we were playing so well earlier this month. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Go Sox.

by 75bandwagon on Jul 25, 2010 12:02 PM EDT reply actions

did you see the sox game against halladay for example earlier this year?

Did that mean that Halladay isn’t an elite starter?

by wolf9309 on Jul 25, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I was wondering where you went

That place was for diehard sports fans. I only follow my team when they're in the playoffs" - Homer Simpson
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by bestbostonsports on Jul 25, 2010 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions

You had me at Dark Helmet

You lost me at “Lester not elite pitcher”.

Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.

@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard

by Bloggy on Jul 25, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Lester is not an elite pitcher . . .

. . . in exactly the same way that a Bugatti Veyron is not a fast car.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on Jul 25, 2010 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I know that opinions are not grounds for banning...

… but I’m no sure that we should be permitting accounts for people who think that Lester isn’t an elite starter. Seriously, kids might read that…

Wait 'til next/this year?
"Laser show. So relax."

by nuthinboutnuthin on Jul 25, 2010 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Go Orioles!

That place was for diehard sports fans. I only follow my team when they're in the playoffs" - Homer Simpson
Join the Lacrosse community The Lacrosse Blog

by bestbostonsports on Jul 25, 2010 12:02 PM EDT reply actions

Feelin' the love once again

Everybody is going to have a bad outing (even ’’elite’’ pitchers), but the elite ones need to be able to carry a team on their backs. The Big Unit, Pedro, The Rocket, Schilling, Ryan. Guys like that. Lester didn’t do that last night. He let that dropped ball get into his head. I saw him do the same thing in game 1 of the ALDS last year when he gave up the three run shot to Hunter which, in my opinion, set the tone for that series. He is a great pitcher and our best starter, but he is still a little short of being called an elite starter. Will he get there? Of course he will, but he’s not there yet. Once again, just an opininon.

by 75bandwagon on Jul 25, 2010 3:33 PM EDT reply actions

You're contradicting yourself.

Elite starters can have bad outings, but they also have to be able to carry a team, so that even when they’re let down by the defense, they still have to basically pitch a flawless game?

You’re not helping yourself with a defense like that.

Fenway: "An alternate and better universe, disguised as a ballpark." --Thomas Boswell

by lone1c on Jul 25, 2010 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions