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Game Story: Lester struggles in PawSox loss

It was quite clear Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester did not want to end his seventh rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox last night prematurely. PawSox manager Ron Johnson had other thoughts.

Lester had been outstanding in his six previous starts for Pawtucket, while he continues his way back to Boston after battling cancer during the offseason, but last night he struggled for the first time this season.

The 23-year-old left-hander was scheduled to work seven innings or 100 pitches, but Johnson gave Lester the hook after only 2 2/3 innings where he allowed three runs on five hits and threw 70 pitches (42 for strikes). He matched a season-high with three walks and struck out only two Ottawa Lynx batters.

Lester had trouble with his command, location and velocity.

“This is not my first rodeo,” said Lester after the Lynx beat Pawtucket 6-2 last night at McCoy Stadium. “I know in five days I’ll go back out there and hopefully do a little bit better than I did tonight. Everybody has them every once in a while.”

Unlike in his other starts, Lester wasn’t able to make the necessary adjustment to work his way out of it. There was speculation that last night would have been his last rehab start with the PawSox as the possibility was there he might join Boston by the end of the week.

For now, however, he’ll likely remain with Pawtucket and make his next start on Thursday against Richmond at McCoy.

Johnson said he had to basically hide from Lester for two innings because the pitcher wasn’t too happy about coming out of the game. But, that’s an attitude Johnson likes to see from his players.

“I don’t want to come out of the game regardless of how good or bad I’m doing,” admitted Lester. “I want to go out there and compete and do well. In that situation you just want to keep battling and hopefully you’ll get out of it.”

Strangely enough, he was strong in the first inning as he retired the side in order on just 11 pitches (nine for strikes).

“Even in the first inning I was a little off,” he said. “I didn’t feel quite right and even though I made some good pitches, it still wasn’t there. Then it just snowballed from there. I got ahead of myself and couldn’t make the adjustment to fix it.”

It was clear, however, during his 38-pitch second inning that he was having problems as PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin made a total of two trips to the mound – one the second and the other in the third inning – as Lester allowed a run on two hits in the inning.

With two outs in the third, he loaded on the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk before he allowed a RBI-single to the Lynx’ Danny Sandoval for a 3-0 Ottawa lead. Johnson felt Lester had enough and called it a night.

“He felt fine and threw the ball well,” said Johnson. “Jon never wants to come out of the ballgame, but that’s where we have to use our intelligence and say to ourselves ‘Jon is a tick off today.’ He wasn’t with the quality of his stuff, just with his command. He was getting to 70 pitches in 2 2/3 and that’s not your typical Lester outing.”

Johnson said at this stage of Lester’s rehab that there was no way he was going to take any chances.

“We let him battle and it got to a point where Jon did get some value out of this outing,” said the manager. “He’ll bounce back in his next one.”

It was a tough night all-around for the travel weary PawSox, who arrived home yesterday afternoon from their recent 6-2 road trip. Pawtucket managed only two runs – an RBI-single in the fourth by George Kottaras and a solo home run by Jeff Bailey in the ninth – as the bullpen allowed another three runs after Lester’s brief outing.

“It was just one of those outings,” said Lester. “I have to suck it up and in five days go get ‘em again.”

Johnson said after the game he feels bad for the Richmond Braves come Thursday when Lester toes the rubber again.

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:25 PM to PawSox | Permalink

FINAL: Ottawa 6, Pawtucket 2

PAWTUCKET -- After returning from a 6-2 road trip, the Pawtucket Red Sox didn't have much left in the tank tonight as they lost to the Ottawa Lynx at McCoy Stadium, 6-2.

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester made his seventh rehab start and lasted only 2 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Pawtucket managed only two runs, a RBI-single by George Kottaras in the fourth inning and a solo home run by Jeff Bailey in the ninth inning.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 9:16 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for June 9

Who's Hot
-David Ortiz, nine-game hitting streak, going 15 for 34 (.441) over that stretch
-Julian Tavarez, 2-0, 3.75 E.R.A. in last four starts

Who's Not
-Mike Lowell, 0 for his last 12
-Coco Crisp, 5 for 37 (.135) over last 11 games
-Eric Hinske, 4 for 38 (.105) over last 16 games

Red Sox vs. Micah Owings
-No Red Sox player has ever faced Owings, and Owings has never faced the Red Sox

Diamondbacks vs. Julian Tavarez
-Tony Clark, 2 for 5 (.400), 1 HR
-No other active Diamondbacks player has ever faced Tavarez
-Tavarez is 0-1 with a 11.78 E.R.A. in his career against Arizona

More Stuff
-Red Sox starters have allowed three runs or less in five straight games.
-J.D. Drew's seven RBI last night were the most by a Red Sox player since Bill Mueller drove in nine on July 23, 2003.
-Julian Tavarez is a .111 career hitter (15 for 135) who has not had a plate appearance since 2003.
-Julio Lugo's "hidden ball trick" putout is believed to be the 18th such putout in Red Sox history, and the first in the major leagues since 2005, when the Marlins' Mike Lowell caught Arizona's Luis Terrero on Aug. 10, 2005. It is the first time the Red Sox have pulled off the hidden ball trick since May 13, 1991, when Steve Lyons got the White Sox' Ozzie Guillen at first.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:57 PM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink

"Bloody" Pedroia

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been having a problem with persistent nosebleeds lately.

He said he woke up yesterday morning and realized that he had had a nosebleed during the night, the blood collecting in his chest.

About five minutes before last night's game, Pedroia said, the Diamondbacks' team physician cauterized his nose. But Pedroia suffered another nosebleed this morning, so he thought he'd have to have it cauterized again.

He thinks its a case of allergies that has been causing his problem. Pedroia was not in the starting lineup, but it wasn't because of his nose issues. Manager Terry Francona opted to start Alex Cora, a left-handed hitter, because Pedroia, a right-handed hitter, will be starting tomorrow against left-hander Randy Johnson.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 7:51 PM | Permalink

Timlin's Use

Manager Terry Francona wasn't sure how he would be using Mike Timlin now that the veteran right-hander has been activated.

It is different this time than when Timlin first left the disabled list and joined the Sox on April 10. He had missed most of spring training back then. This time, he has been working his way back with Pawtucket.

Don't expect Francona to call him in at the first crucial moment, though.

"It would be nice to give him a little leeway," said Francona. "But he has been pitching regularly enough (for Pawtucket, on a rehab assignment) so he's not just feeling his way (like he had been in April). We'll use him."

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 7:46 PM | Permalink

Javier Lopez Survives Roster Cut

Side-arming left-hander Javier Lopez was sweating thing out a bit, knowing the Red Sox were going to activate veteran reliever Mike Timlin in time for tonight's game against the Diamondbacks.

And, as he looked around the bullpen, Lopez was smart enough to realize that he was the only one who had options remaining, meaning Boston could send him to Pawtucket without having to make any roster move with a more veteran reliever.

But that didn't happen. The Sox designated left-hander J.C. Romero for assignment after last night's game, sparing Lopez from being shipped back to Pawtucket. That decision was made because Lopez has been doing a solid job in his second stint with the Boston this season.

"Obviously that would have been the easy decision," said Lopez. "They felt I've been contributing, which is a positive thing for me. Hopefully I can take advantage of (being kept on the team)."

Not that Lopez, who is 1-0 with a 3.21 earned-run average, is gloating about the situation.

"I've been on the other side of this. I've been designated. It's not fun. It's not easy to take. This was one of those things. We knew Timlin was coming back. We knew they had to do something. But I can't be too excited at someone else's misfortunate," he said.

Romero was 1-0 with one save and a 3.15 E.R.A. in 23 games. Manager Terry Francona said general manager Theo Epstein had been trying to swing a deal for Romero.

"Theo had spoken to some teams but couldn't get to the finish line so he had to designate him," said Francona.

The team has 10 days to either trade him or offer him the option of being kept in the organization's minor-league system, a request Romero would have the option of declining, at which point he would become a free agent.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 7:26 PM | Permalink

Henry in the house

Red Sox owner John Henry is visiting McCoy Stadium tonight, along with club chairman Tom Werner. The two spent time with fans prior to the PawSox game against the Ottawa Lynx, visited the PawSox clubhouse and they're enjoying the game from Ben Mondor's box.

This is only the second time Henry has visited McCoy Stadium since he purchased the Red Sox in 2002. The only other time Henry was here was July 3, 2003. At that time he called McCoy an "extraordinary" place and said he wanted to get here more often.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:19 PM | Permalink

Manny Gets a Rest

Manny Ramirez, who has played in more games than any of his teammates this season, is not in the Red Sox' starting lineup tonight.

A couple of circumstances played a part in manager Terry Francona's decision to keep Ramirez on the bench, at least at the outset.

Ramirez, who had played in 59 of the Sox' first 60 games, was hit on the left wrist by a tailing fastball from Arizona right-hander Edgar Gonzalez in the sixth inning of last night's game at Chase Field. Ramirez fell face-first to the dirt and stayed there for a while before finally popping up and going to first base.

Ramirez played in left field in the bottom of the inning, but was replaced by Eric Hinske for the seventh. Francona said Ramirez's wrist was sore, but he could have played tonight.

Francona, though, has been trying to give every regular a day off from the starting lineup during this seven-game road trip, which followed on the heels of a typically intense three-game set at home against the Yankees, with a tiring West Coast trip added into the mix.

The manager initially was going to rest Ramirez Thursday, the last day of the four-game series in Oakland, but Boston had lost the first three games, so he kept Ramirez in the lineup.

But with Arizona starting a pitcher (Micah Owings) Ramirez wasn't familiar with, and with his wrist being sore, Francona has opted to sit Ramirez tonight, replacing him in left with Hinske, while Kevin Youkilis slides into the cleanup spot. Tomorrow David Ortiz will sit against flame-throwing left-hander Randy Johnson, so Francona thought tonight would be best for a Ramirez rest, giving the Sox one of their thumpers in each of the final two games of the series.

While Ramirez has not been hitting home runs with his customary frequency (7 this season, zero in his last 57 at-bats), he has been drilling base hits. Since his last homer, on May 22, Ramirez has batted .375 (24 for 64), boosting his average from .244 to a season-high .293. He is available as a pinch hitter.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 7:06 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups, June 9

BOSTON

Lugo ss
Crisp cf
Ortiz 1b
Youkilis 3b
Drew rf
Varitek c
Hinske lf
Cora 2b
Tavarez p

ARIZONA

Byrnes lf
Young cf
Hudson 2b
Clark 1b
Reynolds 3b
Drew ss
Quentin rf
Montero c
Owings p

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 7:02 PM | Permalink

Lester in the third and done for the night

Things didn't get much better for Lester in the third inning as he threw 21 pitches (11 for strikes) and was given the hook with two outs and two runners on in the inning. He finished 2 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits.

With Lester up to 70 pitches (42 for strikes), PawSox reliever Mike Burns entered the game. PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin made his second trip to the mound after Lester's 12th pitch of the inning.

We'll have more after the game on Lester's outing. . .

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:54 PM | Permalink

Lester in the second

In one of the longest innings Lester has worked during his rehab, the southpaw threw 38 pitches (21 for strikes) and allowed one run on two hits. PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin made a trip to the mound to after pitch 22 of the inning to discuss things with Lester. Even though it was a long inning for him, Lester got out of two-out bases-loaded threat.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:30 PM | Permalink

Lester makes another rehab start

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester makes his seventh rehab start for the PawSox tonight and is slated to work seven innings or 100 pitches.

The left-hander just completed a perfect first inning, throwing 11 pitches (nine for strikes) with a strikeout.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:11 PM | Permalink

Late notes -- Romero designated for assignment

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

PHOENIX -- J.C. Romero was designated for assignment after Friday night's game to make room for veteran right-hander Mike Timlin, who is going to be activated before Saturday night's game against the Diamondbacks.

The Sox have 10 days to trade him before Romero can either accept a demotion or decline the demotion and become a free agent.

Boston manager Terry Francona intimated that Sox general manager Theo Epstein is working on a trade involving Romero, but it wasn't going to get done before Timlin was to be added to the roster, if at all, so the move was made to designate him last night.

Romero, signed as a free agent in the offseason, was 1-0 with a 3.15 earned-run average and one save in 23 games. With two other more effective left-handers also in the bullpen -- Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez -- Romero was the odd man out.

Beckett improves to 9-0
Josh Beckett pretty much had a cakewalk last night, backed by a big early lead and possessing outstanding stuff in running his record to 9-0.

The right-hander easily could have finished, having thrown only 92 pitches in eight innings, but Francona opted to have him save his arm for the final inning, inserting Joel Pineiro to finish up. Beckett allowed only five hits, three runs (two earned), and fanned eight. While his fastball was crackling, he also racked up a pair of knee-buckling whiffs of Stephen Drew and Orlando Hudson with his curveball.

''I was able to throw all my secondary pitches for strikes,'' said Beckett.

He's trying not to get overly puffed up about his 9-0 start.

''I'm on a good team,'' said Beckett, spreading the credit around. ''We play great defense day in and day out and we score a lot of runs, giving me an early cushion in a lot of the games. I can't take all the credit for being 9-0.''

Hustle pays off for Pedroia
Dustin Pedroia hustled a run for the Sox in the sixth inning.

He beat out a roller down the first-base line, reaching when Arizona pitcher Edgar Gonzalez barehanded the ball but threw hurriedly past first baseman Conor Jackson. And then, after stopping at third on David Ortiz's double into the right-field corner, he alertly raced home when the throw from Eric Byrnes got away from Jackson for an error.

Scary moment
The Sox survived a scare when Manny Ramirez was drilled with a pitch off his left wrist in the sixth inning.

Gonzalez's 0-and-2 pitch sailed up and in on Ramirez, who initially began striding into the ball and then tried to pull away from the pitch. After being hit, Ramirez dropped face-first to the dirt around home plate, not moving once he went down.

Francona and assistant trainer Mike Reinold raced out to check on Ramirez. After a few minutes Ramirez got up, shook his hand a little bit and went to first base. He stayed in the game defensively for the bottom of the sixth, but with Boston ahead, 9-1, he was replaced in the outfield by Eric Hinske.

''He's sore,'' said Francona.

But Ramirez didn't look too bothered by the wrist. About five minutes after the final pitch he was dressed and walking out of the Boston clubhouse, clutching a ''to-go'' styrofoam box, presumably filled with food, in his left hand.

Here and there
The seven RBI for J.D. Drew were the most by a member of the Sox since Bill Mueller racked up nine on July 29, 2003, in Texas . . . Ortiz's hitting streak has stretched to nine games . . . Coco Crisp's single in the fifth snapped an 0-for-13 skid.

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 1:22 AM | Permalink

Red Sox 10, Diamondbacks 3

By STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Before last night’s game against Arizona, struggling Boston right fielder J.D. Drew was hoping for a little more luck at the plate.

After sitting out two games in Oakland, he hit the ball hard in three of his four at-bats on Thursday, yet wound up just 1 for 4.

“When I square up a ball, it seems like I hit it hard at somebody. I need some of those to hit the grass,” he said.

Well, last night, the balls Drew hit didn’t find nice soft landing spots in the grass at Chase Field. They found better destinations.

Drew clouted two drives that crash-landed in the seats, a pair of three-run homers, and later added an RBI double, sparking the Red Sox to a 10-3 victory over the Diamondbacks before a crowd of 40,435.

The first homer traveled just to the left of the 413-foot marker in center field and gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead at the expense of walk-prone left-hander Doug Davis.
Considering the depths of his slump – it was only his second extra-base hit in 54 at-bats and his first HR in 114 at-bats – that might have been a nice enough night for Drew, who was batting .224 with two homers and 17 RBI and not exactly earning the $70-million, five-year deal the Sox had lavished on him as a free agent.

But there was more. In the sixth, with two on and one out, Drew pulled a three-run homer to right off right-hander Edgar Gonzalez, giving the Red Sox a commanding 9-1 lead. And just for good measure, Drew laced a double to right-center in the eighth, delivering Eric Hinske from first base for a 10-1 advantage.

It was the 12th two-homer game of Drew’s career, the last of which had come for the Dodgers last Aug. 25, 2006, also against the Diamondbacks.

The seven RBI, though, constituted a career high for Drew. Twice he had driven in five runs in a game, on April 6, 2000 for St. Louis against the Cubs and on June 30, 2004, for Atlanta against Florida.

And the seeds had been sewn in Oakland the previous day, when he found his swing and his balance at the plate.

“It definitely carried over to today,” said Drew. “I just wanted to see the ball well and hit it hard. Getting three hits is nice. I want to forget about the first part of the season and push on, try to have some big games in the future.”

Manager Terry Francona said the major contribution from Drew was a welcome sight.

“That’s the J.D. (the Sox have been waiting for). He won’t do that every night, but when he swings like that, he makes the guys in front of him better and becomes a big connector to the rest of the lineup,” said Francona.

“It was fun to watch his swing. We need that long-term. He looked excited, The (players in the) dugout looked excited (for him). He looked pretty dangerous tonight. When you hit a ball like he did to the left of center (as a left-handed hitter), that means you have pretty good balance up there,” added Francona.

The production was a welcome sight from where starter Josh Beckett was standing, too.

“He’s a great hitter. I’ve seen him hit like this for Atlanta, St. Louis,” said Beckett. “It was a big night for him.”

Drew’s sudden and unexpected power show – he doubled his home-run output for the season – wasn’t the only highlight of the night for the Sox.

Julio Lugo, another megabucks free-agent signing not justifying his big contract (4 years, $36 million) led off the game with a homer to left. It was his fourth homer of the year, but only his second extra-base hit in 67 at-bats.

On the mound, meanwhile, was the unbeaten Beckett, who cruised to 9-0, surrendering three runs, only two of which was earned, in eight innings.
Beckett, backed by Drew’s power show and contributions from Lugo and Manny Ramirez (RBI single), became the sixth pitcher in Red Sox history to win his first nine decisions in a season. Roger Clemens was the last, going a Sox record 14-0 to begin the 1986 season.

But the star of the night, obviously, was J.D. Drew, who was playing against his younger brother, Stephen, the Diamondbacks’ shortstop.

And his success against Arizona probably should have been expected. Last year, as a member of the Dodgers, Drew hit a sizzling .412 (28 for 68) with seven homers and 30 RBI in 18 games against the Diamondbacks. From 2004 to 2006, Drew batted .383 (51 for 133) with 12 homers and 33 RBI in 35 games against Arizona.

Drew took his first step toward a return to productivity Thursday in Oakland after having two days off from the starting lineup to clear his head and work with batting coach Dave Magadan.

Drew lined out to short, was robbed of a hit when a hot grounder was turned into a 1-6-3 out and smoked a single to center in his four trips to the plate Thursday.

“I’m not going to change anything,” said Drew before the game. “I’m going to take the same good swings, but the key is you want to see some results.”

He certainly did last night.

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 1:18 AM | Permalink