Despite an injury to Josh Beckett, and some inconsistency from John Lackey early on, this rotation, for the most part, has lived up to the hype.
Most notably, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have risen to the top of the rotation. Both are coming off wins, and both have impressive numbers, so it begs the question: Who is the ace of the Red Sox?
Lester continued his dominance at home Wednesday night, picking up his eighth win while beating the Diamondbacks. He has not lost a start since April 18 and he seemingly continues to get better with every start. He is also tied for the Major League lead in strikeouts.
Buchholz has been as solid as a rock all year. He leads the team in wins with nine after he beat the D-Backs on Tuesday. Not only that, his ERA sits at 2.67, also best on the staff and good for fourth in the AL. His consistency has been admirable, especially of late, when he's won seven of his last eight starts, the only loss coming in Cleveland. That was his only really bad start of the year.
While Lester has the experience, Buchholz has the potential to have some of the nastiest stuff in the game, especially when he's on. Either one would be a potential to be the ace on almost any pitching staff in baseball, and luckily for Red Sox fans, they both call Boston home.
So the question is: Who's the ace of the Red Sox? Is it Jon Lester? Is it Clay Buchholz? The argument could also be made that the title still belongs to Josh Beckett until he proves on the field that he is no longer this team's ace.
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June 16: Should Clay Buchholz, David Price, Phil Hughes, or someone else start the All-Star Game for the AL?
