Boston Red Sox : News and Notes 07/24/06
| 9
|
Jon Lester was knocked around by the Seattle Mariners on Sunday for the worst outing of his short career. He allowed 5 earned runs in 5 innings and saw his ERA jump up to 3.04. He didn't take the loss, however, and his perfect 5-0 record as a pro still stands. It was only a matter of time before Lester was knocked around. The young lefty has put up good numbers and kept the Sox in games, but he has been anything but sharp. With the exception of his 1-hit, 8 inning outing on July 18, he hasn't made it past the 6th inning and has been very inefficient. He has been lucky to work himself out of so many jams and a game like his last was to be expected sooner or later. He has been extremely valueable for the Red Sox so far this season, but he has now allowed 74 baserunners (44 hits and 30 walks) in 50.1 IP over 9 starts.
Jason Varitek may finally be turning things around. He homered for the second consecutive game and is 11 for his last 31. His homer on Sunday came with two outs in the top of the 9th inning against Seattle's closer, JJ Putz. The blast tied the game and sent it to the bottom of the inning only so that Richie Sexson give the Mariners the win with a walkoff homerun. Varitek's 2-5 day with 3 RBI wasn't enough to give the Red Sox a win, but it may be enough to give the fans hope that he's coming out of his season-long slump. He's batting a dissapointing .246/.330/.414 so far this year.
Mike Timlin and Manny Delcarmen were a little less than sharp for the Sox on Sunday. Delcarmen was charged with a blown save after he allowed 2 runs in his only inning of work. He did managed to strikeout the side, however. It was just the second time in the last 13 games that he has allowed a run, a span in which he saw his ERA drop from 5.06 to 3.48. Timlin allowed an inside the park homerun to Adrian Beltre in the 8th followed by the game-losing walk off homer to Sexon in the 9th to take the loss. It was Timlin's first loss of the year and his ERA is up to a season high 2.72.
The loss can not be pinned on the top third of the Red Sox order who did everything they could to try to win the game. Kevin Youkilis, Mark Loretta, and David Ortiz combined to go 7-12 with 3 BB's and 6 runs scored. Youkilis is 7 for his last 18 and is hoping to turn things around. He's hitting .205/.330/.315 for the month of July and has watched his AVG dip from .318 on June 28 to a .292 clip as of now. Loretta has also been slightly hot during a bad month. He's 8 for his last 18, but is hitting just .243/.345/.270 for the month. He has just 2 extra base hits in July and hasn't hit a home run since June 29. Ortiz, on the other hand, is on fire. He's batting .325/.429/.792 for the month and has 10 home runs.
David Wells is on the fasttrack to recovery after many had already given up on the big guy. The lefty was hit in his surgically repaired right knee by a Travis Lee line drive on May 26 and has been on the DL since. On Monday he gets his biggest test to see if he's ready or not. He will be pitching a five inning simulated game. If all goes well it's possible that he'll get the start for the Red Sox on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. Wells hasn't talked to the media since his injury and many speculated that he was ready to retire.
Date
Mon 07/24/06, 5:16 am EST
