LACKEY LEFT AT LOSS AGAIN:
Bats don’t support hard-luck veteran
It was merely the opener of a three-game series in early September, nothing more and nothing less. But it easily could have been the first act of a playoff series.
And once again, John Lackey proved he would be a worthy Game 1 starter.
Don’t blame Lackey for the Red Sox mustering only six hits and losing, 3-0, to the Detroit Tigers in a Labor Day matinee yesterday. It wasn’t his fault that the Sox were shut out for the 11th time, six of which have come in his starts. In fact, had he been getting even average run support, he would be a Cy Young Award contender rather than a candidate for the title of “Hard Luck Pitcher of the Year.”
“Honestly,” Lackey said, “this is about as good as I’ve ever pitched. I’m probably better now than I’ve ever been.”
Surely, manager John Farrell realizes as much. Never mind Lackey’s 8-12 record or even the fact that the ALbest Red Sox are 11-14 when he takes the mound. The big right-hander has a 3.22 ERA, the lowest mark of his career through 25 starts, and has completed at least six innings 21 times.
Consistency, thy name is Lackey.
And so, with 23 regularseason games remaining, Lackey still may be Farrell’s best choice to start a possible playoff opener, even though All-Star righthander Clay Buchholz is expected back next week after missing three months with a shoulder injury.
“He’s been definitely one of our best pitchers the whole year, and we need it,” catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. “Lackey has been picking us up while Buck’s been on the DL. I’ve played against him when I was in Texas, and I’ve gotten to catch him. Being healthy is the biggest key, and now his velocity’s coming back. He’s been doing it all year.”
Nothing that happened against the Tigers should diminish that, not Victor Martinez’ leadoff single in the seventh inning nor the RBI triple by Andy Dirks that snapped a scoreless stalemate. Through six innings, Lackey mowed down the Miguel Cabreraand AL Centralleading Tigers, allowing only three hits (all doubles), pounding the strike zone to make quick work of batter after batter, and matching Detroit starter Doug Fister zero for zero.
So, although he was KO’d by back-to-back eighth inning singles by Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter that led to the Tigers’ third run, Lackey still offered the Red Sox a chance to win.
Pin the fact that they didn’t on missed opportunities against Fister, who got three rally-killing double plays in the first six innings.
‘This is about as good as I’ve ever pitched. I’m probably better now than I’ve ever been.’
— JOHN LACKEY After latest strong outing
Saltalamacchia was unable to execute an effective sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning, and the Red Sox couldn’t drive in runners from second base in the eighth and ninth, finishing 0-for-11 with men in scoring position.
By now, it was an all-toofamiliar scene for Lackey. In his last 11 starts, the Sox have scored a total of 24 runs, including only 13 runs in the first six innings. They have been shut out in five of those starts and have scored fewer than four runs in two others.
Asked if he’s able to separate how he has pitched from his poor record, Lackey said, “I’m trying, man. I’m trying hard. The boys want to give me some runs. They feel pretty bad about it. After games I get a lot of, ‘Nice job, our bad,’ that kind of stuff. They’re grinding.”
Said Farrell, “There’s a lot of runs waiting to come his way. John is a pro. He understands the game. This isn’t going to affect his work or cause him to try to do any more.”
But what more can Lackey possibly do? Of the potential playoff opponents, he has struggled against only the Rays, while notching strong starts against the Tigers, Indians, Rangers and A’s. He has more postseason experience than any Sox starter, posting a 3.12 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts), all for the Angels.
And if yesterday had been Game 1 of a playoff series, the Red Sox would’ve done well to give the ball to Lackey again.