It was three days before Jon Lester tossed eight more scoreless innings against what would figure to be his favorite team to pitch against, the Royals.
It was well ahead of the Sox' starter leading his team to Friday night's 1-0 win over KC, while having still not allowed an earned run in three career Fenway Park starts against the Royals.
But Josh Beckett knew of what he spoke when talking about Lester.
"Jon Lester is to me starting to mold into stuff-wise the best lefty in the game," Beckett said. "I know that there are guys who say he doesn't have the numbers to stack up against these guys, but as far as going about his business and the stuff I get to see on a day to day basis, he's turning into that guy.
"I actually cherish the time I get to spend with Jon Lester because I know down the road that's what people will be saying about this guy."
Well, that road just got a whole lot shorter. After Lester's latest outing -- which extended a streak in which he has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last eight starts -- they're echoing Beckett's analysis.
The numbers back it up: Since truly catching fire, starting with his May 21 start in Toronto, there has been no lefty who has approached Lester's performance.
He has struck out 77 (23 more than second-place Ted Lilly), totaled a Major League-best 2.01 ERA (better than Clayton Kershaw's 2.03), and joined Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa in winning the most games of any southpaw (6). Lester has also allowed just three home runs with opponents hitting only .213 off of him during hte span.
And after watching his latest piece of work, in which Lester allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out eight over eight innings, it was a whole lot easier to understand Beckett's claims.
"He's a good pitcher," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona after his team regained a game lead over the Yankees. "The last couple of years he's started out slow and then he gets it going and he can be very dominant. He seems to get stronger as the year goes, which is a good thing for us."
The year, and the game.
From the seventh inning, on Lester has allowed opponents just a .171 batting average. His batting average against is also .242 the third time through the lineup, better than either the first or second go-rounds.
Lester, who threw 115 pitches against the Royals, has allowed just 14 hits in 81 (.172) at-bats on pitches 91-120. It was another case of a pitcher -- and his image -- solidifying which each passing moment.
"Last year at this time, or in May of last year, I was throwing 91, 92 (mph), or maybe 93, 94 if I got on it," Lester explained. "Obviously this year I'm a little bit stronger and further away from (cancer) treatment. So, it seems like the further and further I get, the stronger I get and the better I feel."
As for whether it has officially translated into Lester standing on top of heap when it comes to looking at lefties, there will be those standard bearers residing down in New York, C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees and the Mets' Johan Santana.
But consider this -- since Lester truly turned it around last season, beginning with an April 29 win over Toronto, this is how the Sox hurler has matched up:
Wins: Sabathia 24, Lester 23, Santana 22.
Innings: Sabathia 342 2/3, Santana 309, Lester 292 2/3.
Hits allowed: Lester 277, Santana 277, Sabathia 284.
Home runs allowed: Lester 22, Sabathia 24, Santana 33.
ERA: Sabathia 2.57, Santana 2.74, Lester 3.23.
Strikeouts: Sabathia 307, Santana 281, Lester 267.
Bottom line: Lester has entered the argument, with his case seemingly only getting better and better by the day.
GREEN IS CLUTCH BUNTER
Heading into Brian Bannister's fifth pitch of the eighth inning, Nick Green had attempted to sacrifice bunt eight times this season, the most on the team. Not one of the attempts, however, had been successful.
Evidently, Green had enough.
After fouling off his first two attempts to get pinch-runner Aaron Bates over to second base, and getting the bunt sign taken off by Francona, Green took
RSS Center
