Before Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, Lester tossed his scheduled bullpen with Pedro Ciriaco and Daniel Nava standing at the plate. The reason was for Lester to simulate an authentic sequence with batters, except these batters weren’t swinging.
“He threw the ball with conviction but also with a plan where he wanted to get some feedback from hitters,” Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. “[He] wanted to throw a certain part of the plate and throw it with hitters standing there and with conviction and I think he did.”
During the past three starts, Lester has battled the toughest stretch in his career, yielding 21 earned runs — 11 in his last outing — over that stretch. In those appearances, Lester hasn’t lasted more than 4 1/3 innings.
With his ERA sitting at 5.46 for the season, the Red Sox elected to change it up for the southpaw. After the bullpen session, Valentine was pleased with the results and encouraged that the 28-year-old was headed in the right direction.
“I think that was a very good step to, of practice, to take him into a game,” Valentine said. “In the game, he’s going to have to use all of his pitches. I think that’s probably the biggest thing we’re talking about in between starts, not being narrowed down to a one- or two-pitch pitcher.”
Through 20 starts, Lester only has a 5-8 record to show for it. He is slated to start against the Yankees on Saturday.
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