Lester pleased to see old mates
Happy homecoming for lefty
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
It’s been nearly three years since Jon Lester was traded out of Boston, became a free agent, and elected to join the Cubs rather than return to the Red Sox. Yesterday was, at last, his return to the familiar territory at Fenway Park. Sort of. “I had to take the bus today,” Lester said. “I didn’t know where exactly the visiting clubhouse was. I’ve never really been over here.”
Lester will not pitch for the Cubs this series, but his return to Boston could not be overlooked even in the fanfare of a series that brings not only the defending world champions, but also a series of familiar faces from Theo Epstein to John Lackey to, of course, Lester.
“I don’t want to shy away from coming back here just because I didn’t pick to come back and went to a different team,” Lester said. “That’s kind of being I guess a coward. I want to embrace it, see these people, see the fans, and hopefully at the end of it, win three games and go on home.”
Now 33, Lester was drafted by the Red Sox in 2002. He made his big league debut with the team 2006, won championships in 2007 and 2013, and was traded for Yoenis Cespedes in 2014. He signed a six-year deal with the Cubs that offseason, and helped Chicago break its own curse with a title last season.
After the second inning, the video board in center field showed a highlight montage of Lester, Lackey and Koji Uehara, then focused on each player individually as they sat in the Cubs dugout. All three got a stirring ovation, but the longest and loudest went to Lester, who tipped his cap.
“You play first and foremost for yourself and family,” Lester said, “but then you play for the fans as well as the organization. When you have that support, we’ve been through a lot here, the ups and downs, a few really large downs and a couple really good ups.
“I feel like these fans are a part of my family, a part of me and who I am not only as a baseball player but as a person. It’s always nice to see that stuff. It’s nice to be back.”
Down the order
For the first time in his career, Dustin Pedroia hit sixth in the Red Sox lineup. He’d missed nearly a week with a sore knee, and the Red Sox elected to put Xander Bogaerts — one of their more consistent hitters so far — in the leadoff spot.
Manager John Farrell said he was looking to take advantage of Bogaerts’ speed, and wanted to give Pedroia some time to get his timing at the plate. Pedroia went 2-for-3 with a walk in the Sox’ 5-4 win. It was his first two-hit game in exactly two weeks.
“Just add 6-hole to the list,” Pedroia said. “I’ll rake in that spot, too.”
Holt begins rehab
The Red Sox sent utility man Brock Holt to Triple-A Pawtucket for a rehab assignment that’s going to last at least five days, according to Farrell. Coming back from a case of vertigo, Holt will DH for two days then start moving all over the field to get time at various positions.
For now, the Red Sox have replaced Holt with a similarly versatile player in Chase d’Arnaud, who was activated after being claimed off waivers from Atlanta. Steve Selsky was optioned to make room on the active roster.
“Good athlete, good speed,” Farrell said. “And more than anything, given the temporary situation with some of our injured guys, he provides the depth that we’re looking for. The fact (is) that his timing to be claimed on waivers (was) kind of a bonus for us.”
Intriguing option
The somewhat surprising second roster move for the Red Sox yesterday was bringing back rookie righthanded reliever Ben Taylor and optioning established lefty Robbie Ross Jr., who had been a go-to reliever the past two years.
With Robby Scott having emerged as the team’s new go-to lefty, and with Fernando Abad providing a second left-handed reliever, Ross became the odd man out.
“With the lineups that we’re facing, three left handers is a little bit of maybe not the best matchup that we can provide or best option available to us,” Farrell said. “It came down to being a little more consistent with his strike throwing in Robbie’s case. Not an easy conversation. Certainly disappointed and can understand that.”
Taylor was a somewhat surprising choice for the Opening Day roster, and this is already his third big league stint this season. . . .
Off to a rough start this season, Steven Wright is hopeful recent tweaks have brought back some of the unpredictability that made him so effective last season.
“I think he discovered some things in his last bullpen,” Farrell said. “Watching what was taking place, I guess in a sense, creating a little bit more energy in his delivery has allowed some of the violence to return to his knuckleball.”
Wright makes his fifth start of the season today, but he so far has an 8.66 ERA and has twice failed to pitch beyond the fourth inning.
“It’s been more the release point,” Farrell said. “Not allowing the spin that has shown up and to discover, re-discover, the violence that’s there.”