Walks. That was the only word Lester said.
Of course, he did eventually elaborate, but he didn't really need to. Anyone who saw Lester pitch in 2010 knows that about all that separated him from being very good to being great was a suddenly soaring walk rate. Well, that and his propensity to struggle early in the season.
Neither the walks nor the early issues have caused a problem for him in 2011, and after another gem on Tuesday night at Fenway Park, the talk of Lester being able to accomplish something truly great this year is beginning to increase.
Even the always modest and reserved Lester could admit there is something different going on, at least from a results standpoint. He is now 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA.
"I've had such terrible starts to the season that its kind of magnified that way," he said after allowing one run in seven innings of a 7-3 win over Anaheim on Tuesday. "I don't feel any different compared to seasons past. It's about executing pitches, and except for this year I have yet to do that in the beginning of the season. I was able to do that [Tuesday night]. Velocity came a little earlier than normal, so I think that helps. Feel for a changeup helps. A lot of different things help."
Lester struck out a season-high 11 Angels on Tuesday, including six of the last eight men he faced.
Those figures will make any pitcher proud, but it's the other stat that always accompanies strikeouts that means so much more to Lester. He walked just one and continues to drop his rate of bases on balls to pre-2010 levels.
Too often in 2010, Lester's career-high rate of 3.8 walks per nine innings (it is at 3.1 this year) forced him to have his starts cut short. His pitch count would often soar into triple digits far too early, leaving plenty of outs on the table for the bullpen.
His new-found efficiency, on display in a major way against Anaheim, allowed manager Terry Francona to get his lefty through seven without taxing the valuable arm — Lester needed only 93 pitches to get that far. He will be relatively rested his next time out, and as locked in at this stage of the season as he's ever been. That even goes for nights like Tuesday, when Lester started the game searching for something.
"His bullpen before he came into the game was a little rough," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "He wasn't sure, didn't feel. As soon as the lights turned on and they said 'Play ball,' he was right there … Every start is looking better and better."
Francona had no fear that Lester would do any damage if he left him in for the eighth or even ninth innings against Anaheim. He can sense that his southpaw has conquered the issues that dogged him in the past, or at least kept him from taking his game to another level, the must-see level once reserved at Fenway Park for guys like Pedro Martinez and before him Roger Clemens.
Knowing that Lester stays in that zone once he hits it, Francona may be able to witness that kind of dominance in 2011.
"I think it's really encouraging because the last few years, April's been so tough on him," Francona said. "And once he seems to find it, he doesn't lose it. I think that's really good news."
Revisionist history never holds water, but in a game built around numbers it can be fun. Consider that if you replace Lester's first seven starts of 2010 with his first seven of 2011, this would've been his final line: 20-8, 2.95 ERA.
Not that his closing numbers in 2010 (19-9, 3.25) were anything to sneeze at. But by limiting walks and executing pitches early in the season, Lester has seemingly taken the step he wanted to take, and has his sights set on that next tier.
