Jon Lester retired the first 11 batters he faced en route to his second complete game of the year, as the Red Sox won their fourth straight game by beating the Mariners, 6-1.
Lester proved tremendously efficient, requiring just 119 pitches to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard until the ninth inning. Though he allowed eight hits, seven were singles, and Lester showed both precision with a 91-94 mph fastball and a swing-and-miss curveball and changeup with a smattering of cutters. He struck out six, walked none (the first time this year that he hasn't walked a batter) and elicited nine groundball outs while improving to 2-3 with a 3.71 ERA.
The Red Sox provided the pitcher with all the offensive support he would need in the bottom of the first, when David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to left against Mariners starter Jason Vargas. Daniel Nava continued his outrageous performance since his call-up by swatting a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the fourth inning, ending a run of 205 straight plate appearances without a homer dating to the first swing of his big league career on June 12, 2010. Later that inning, Kelly Shoppach's solo homer -- his first with the Sox -- gave the Sox a 5-0 lead.
For more from the game, visit Closing Time [1]. For complete Red Sox coverage, visit weei.com/redsox [2].
Links:
[1] http://fullcount.weei.com/?p=49706
[2] http://www.weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox