| 20 August 2010
Josh Beckett is dead to me.
Thank you for your brilliance in 2007. Thank you for a solid season in 2009. I commend you for your efforts through 6 innings yesterday, but these 1-inning implosion you've become prone to are killing me. I'm moving on...
Now kindly step aside for the new ace of this pitching staff - Jon Lester.
After blowing a very winnable game last night, the Sox get back to work on a crucial 10-game home-stand. They took 2 of 3 from the Halos and now they must do the same (or better) against the Blue Jays. Jon Lester (13-7, 2.80) get the start tonight and will look to keep pace with Clay Buchholz and friends in the AL Cy Young race.Lester is 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 11 starts against the Jays. On July 9th, he notched a win over the Toronto, allowing 2 runs through 6 innings, while fanning 6. Last time out, against the Rangers, Lester put in one of his best starts of the season, blanking Texas through 8 innings while allowing just 5 hits. With a shutout win over the Yankees the start before, he's logged 14.1 scoreless innings in a row...
The Jays will be countering with their own lefty in Brett Cecil (9-6, 3.96). Cecil went on a nice run through July, posting a 2.23 ERA through 5 starts, but only earned one win and logged a 16/19 BB/K ratio along the way. He got tagged by the Angels in his last start, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits (3 HR), and his three starst against Boston have looked very similar: 0-3, 7.80 ERA, 7 HR.
That said, much of that damage happened in May of 2008... the last time he faced the Sox, he held them to 1 run through 6 innings.
Key Matchups
JD Drew is 2 for 5 with 2 ding dongs against Cecil, but he's hitting just .174 against southpaws this season. Flipside, Victor Matinez is hitting lefties at a .394 clip, but he's 2 for 11 (.182 against Cecil).
The Jays are in a serious funk right now. Adam Lind leads the team with a .286 BA over the past 7 days and none of them hit Lester all that well. But Lind is hitting .125 against lefties, so I'd say the guy worth watching is Jose Bautista and his 37 homers.
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