T.V. executives may not have heard of them, but it seems like the Red Sox are all about June sweeps. They've survived two John Lackey games, beaten aces, and won close games and blowouts alike.
Now all that stands between them and a third straight sweep is a game which pits Jon Lester against Kyle Drabek. Good odds on most days, but then, Lester hasn't been pitching like his usual self of late.
In fact, it was in Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays that this slump of Lester's started. He entered his last game against Toronto with a 2.33 ERA, and left with a 2.96 mark. It's been mostly downhill from there.
Hopefully the Jays will be the ones to set him right, too. If they're not, then we're going to need a lot of work from these guys:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Carl Crawford, LF
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
8. J.D. Drew, RF
9. Marco Scutaro, SS
Yup. That's Jarrod Saltalamacchia batting seventh.
The aforementioned Mr. Lester:
And his Toronto counterpart, the esteemed Sir Kyle of Drabek:
OK, looking at those numbers, perhaps not as esteemed as all that.
Now that I've gone ahead and jinxed this game to hell and back...
Go Sox!