Lackey-luster performance by Jared Carrabis
Lackey's no Lester, as Sox lose opener to Phils


The first game of what the 2008 World Series should have been did not go so well.

Just 24 hours after Jon Lester needed just 103 pitches to shut down the Minnesota Twins in a complete game effort, John Lackey couldn't come close to mirroring his teammates performance.

Just to compare, Lester entered the ninth inning on Thursday night with just 84 pitches under his belt. When Lackey threw his 84th pitch on Friday, he was trying to work his way out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth inning.

Not everyone can be as dominating of a pitcher as Lester, who through his first 100 career starts, has the highest winning percentage to in baseball history, but for Lackey's sake, when the Red Sox are paying you the highest salary for a pitcher in team history, 15 earned in your last 18 innings is not acceptable.

In his last three starts, including Friday night's loss to the Phillies, Lackey is 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA, and opponents are hitting .307 against the right-hander. His walks (12) are almost even to his strikeouts (13), and he's given up four long balls in those three starts.

In fact, Lackey has given up at least one home run in four consecutive starts, and in six of his last seven outings. In his last four starts, Lackey's walk totals have gone up by one, starting with two against the Angels, three against Toronto, four against Detroit and a season-high five walks against the Phillies.

Before the Phils could even pick up the lumber, Victor Martinez took Phils' lefty Cole Hamels out of the yard on a cutter, batting from the right side of the plate. Martinez would finish the night batting .391 from the right side of the plate this season with four of his six home runs, as his .196 average from the left side has been less than impressive in 2010.

The lead provided by Martinez's solo shot was erased in the bottom of the fourth when Ryan Howard took Lackey to the opposite field for his eighth home run of the season. Another run would cross home plate on an RBI base hit by the Flyin' Hawaiian, Shane Victorino.

In the bottom of the fifth, Jayson Werth, who is a free agent at the end of this season (wink, wink), crushed a first-pitch fastball from Lackey into outer space (or the second deck, if you want to get technical about it).

Lackey's night was done after five, having given up four earned runs on six hits, walking five and striking out three on 107 pitches.

Joe Nelson, who was called up when Josh Beckett was placed on the 15-day disabled list, came on in relief in the sixth, and surrendered the Phillies' fifth run on an RBI single by Howard.

Trailing by four in the ninth inning, manager Terry Francona opted to pinch hit David Ortiz for Bill Hall with the bases loaded. Behind in the count 1-2, Ortiz hammered a fastball offering from former Red Sox reliever, JC Romero.

The ball traveled all the way to the warning track, before coming down in the glove of Victorino out in center field. When asked if he thought the ball had a chance to go out, Ortiz replied with a smile, "Always."

Final score: Red Sox 1, Phillies 5
WP: Cole Hamels (5-2)
LP: John Lackey (4-3)
SV: JC Romero (1)

Game notes: After Friday night's loss, the Red Sox designated outfielder Jonathan Van Every and activated Jacoby Ellsbury. Van Every departs with a .211 batting average and an ERA of 18.00.

Saturday's pitching match-up: Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the start for Boston. Matsuzaka has faced the Phillies just once in his career, giving up four runs on seven hits this past season. Kyle Kendrick goes for the Phillies, who has pitched well of late, going 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his last three outings.

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on May 22, 2010

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