Jon Lester continued to dominate at the Triple-A level today in his fifth rehab start for Pawtucket today. Lester threw 79 pitches, 50 of them for strikes, while shuting out the Columbus Clippers over 5 innings. The 23-year-old left-hander allowed four hits and a couple of walks while striking out six. He also got his velocity up to 95 mph.
In his five starts at the Triple-A level, Lester has an ERA of 1.30 and a WHIP of 0.97. Lester may only need one more start to get his pitch count up to the desired range of 90-100. He could make his 2007 major league debut in Arizona two weekends from now. It’s more likely however that he will wait until the Red Sox return to Fenway to take on the Colorado Rockies June 12th-14th.
On another note, if the season ended today, Josh Beckett would be the obvious choice for the AL Cy Young Award winner. In nine starts, Beckett’s gone 8-0 with a 2.65 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and a K/BB ratio of 4.15. Even though he missed two starts, he’s still tied for the major league lead in wins. He’s the first Red Sox starter to win his first eight decisions since Roger Clemens did it in 1986.
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