Lester Outstanding as Sox Down Jays (5/10/13)

The bad news was the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their NHL playoff first round series but the good news was the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays After dropping 6 of their last 7, the Boston Red Sox needed a boost and they got one big time from their ace. Jon Lester was masterful, going the distance and allowing exactly one baserunner as the Red Sox shut out the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 at Fenway. Lester went the full 9 and faced 28 batters, one less than during his no-hitter 5 years ago.

                                       You can't see John Cena and you can't beat Lester

Lester was in command from the first pitch of the top of the first inning. Rajai Davis flied out, Melky Cabrera grounded out and Jose Bautista flied out to end the inning. Ramon Ortiz matched Lester in the bottom of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out but Shane Victorino singled. Dustin Pedroia walked but David Ortiz bounced into a double play to end the inning.

Lester cruised in the top of the second inning. Edwin Encarnarcion grounded out, JP Arencibia struck out and Mark DeRosa grounded out to end the inning. The Sox managed to scratch out a run in the bottom of the second inning. Mike Napoli grounded out but Daniel Nava walked. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled Nava to third and Middlebrooks hit a ground ball to Maicer Izturis....that was thrown away, allowing Nava to score and Will to reach. Stephen "PU" Drew grounded out to advance both runners but Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning.

Lester continued to dominate in the top of the third inning. Brett Lawrie lined out, Colby Rasmus struck out and Izturis grounded out to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the third inning. Victorino walked but Pedroia flied out. Victorino took second on a bad pickoff throw by the pitcher so they intentionally walked Ortiz. David was erased on the fielder's choice by Napoli and Nava flied out to end the inning.

There was no stopping Lester in the top of the fourth inning. Davis grounded out, Cabrera flied out and Bautista grounded out to end the inning. Ortiz nearly matched Lester in the bottom of the fourth inning. Saltalamacchia struck out but Middlebrooks doubled. PU Drew and Ellsbury both flied out to end the inning.

Lester remained perfect in the top of the fifth inning. Encarnarcion grounded out, Arencibia popped up and DeRosa grounded out to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the fifth as well. Victorino walked and Pedroia legged out an infield single. Ortiz beat out a double play ball but Napoli did bang into a double play to end the inning.

The closest Toronto came to tying the game came in the top of the sixth. Lawrie lined out and Rasmus flied out. After tossing 5 2/3 perfect innings, the number 9 hitter Maicer Izturis laced a double down the left field line. Adam Lind pinch hit for Rajai Davis which was peculiar since Lind was 3 for 27 against Lester lifetime. Sure enough, Lester bore down and struck out Lind.

                                           Mutumbo says "No Adam Lind, not today. Hah Hah Hah!"

Bret Cecil came into the game in the bottom of the sixth. Nava grounded out and Saltalamacchia popped up but Middlebrooks doubled again. PU Drew flied out to end the inning.

Lester continued to roll in the top of the seventh inning. Cabrera and Bautista grounded out before Encarnarcion popped up to end the inning. The Sox finally put the game away in the bottom of the 7th against Brett Cecil. Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino hit back to back singles before advancing a base on a wild pitch. Dustin Pedroia then singled home Ellsbury and sent Victorino to third. With 2 on and none out, Ortiz struck out. Mickey Storey relieved Brett Cecil and struck out Mike Napoli. At this point you're thinking there goes the rally right.......wrong! Daniel Nava ripped a double that scored Victorino and Pedroia then Saltalamacchia doubled home Nava to make the game 5-0. Middlebrooks grounded out but Lester had all the support he needed.

                                         Pedroia is pleased to give the Sox a big lead

Lester returned for the top of the eighth inning. Arencibia flied out and DeRosa grounded out before Lawrie lined out to end the inning. The Sox offense was done for the ninth in the bottom of the eighth inning. PU Drew struck out as both Ellsbury and Victorino flied out to end the inning.

With the bullpen in big trouble, a night like this is just what the doctor ordered where Lester was going the distance in the top of the ninth. Lester struck out Rasmus, got Izturis to ground out on a full count and struck out Adam Lind (now 3 for 29) to end the complete game 1 hit shut out. The Sox defeated the Jays 5-0.

                                    Junichi Tazawa says "Ahhhh, isn't it nice not to have to work today?"

Hero of the Night is a no brainer. When Jon Lester pitched his no hitter in April of 2008 he faced 29 batters due to the 2 walks he allowed. Tonight he faced 28 batters as Izturis was the only one who reached base the whole game. A no-no is impressive but 1 base runner is just as good. A complete game, 1 hit, no walk, 5 strikeout shutout not only won the game but saved the exhausted bullpen for tomorrow.

                                            Hero of the Night.  Jon Lester



THE GOOD:

Shane Victorino was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.

Daniel Nava was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with an rbi.




THE BAD:

Mike Napoli was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.




THE UGLY:

Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 5 with a run scored.

David Ortiz was 0 for 3 with a walk.




Final Thoughts:

Now THAT'S more like it. Timely hitting, lights out pitching and no errors is the style of ball they played for much of April. As much as this site points out the bawfulness (and there was tonight, just on a smaller scale), its always nice when the home team wins. With Ryan Dempster and John Lackey pitching the way they have (Lackey's 7th inning meltdown not included) as well as Lester and Buccholz pitching to their potential, the 4 man group has the chance to keep the Sox in contention provided other things fall into place such as not fumbling the ball on defense and actually making contact on offense, strange concepts right? Now the bullpen is rested meaning Vigo, The Orient Express, Mr. Wilson, Jose De La Torre, Andrew Miller and Felix are all available tomorrow night if needed. It would be nice if Buccholz played a game of "Anything you can do, I can do better" by pitching a shut out of his own tomorrow night, but that would be expecting too much. Not throwing the ball away and keeping balls inside the park would be just fine on defense.  Tomorrow Clay Buccholz faces the team that accused him of cheating (Jack Morris has since apologized) just one week ago.  The win kept the Sox on pace with the O's (who pulled off a miracle rally to beat Minnesota) and Yankees (who easily beat the Royals) as well as improve to 22-14 on the season.