Jon Lester, Red Sox Staff Looks Sharp

After going down to the Minnesota Twins in their 1st Spring Mayor’s Cup game, the Red Sox have bounced back and won 2 straight. This afternoon, the combination of Jon Lester, Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Papelbon, Randy Williams, Rich Hill, Tony Pena Jr., and Matt Fox shutout the Twins in impressive fashion 5-0, allowing just 4 hits, 4 Ks and 4 BBs. Although these games don’t mean a whole lot, it is a great sign that the Red Sox arms are pitching well early in the Spring, because they will only continue to improve and develop arm strength through March. On the offensive side of the ball, Josh Reddick drove in his 4th run of the Spring so far and Paul Hoover, Juan Carlos Linares, Nate Spears, and Jed Lowrie joined the party with 1 RBI each. 

It is great to see some of the Red Sox young talent succeeding early in the Spring, because confidence can be the biggest ally for a player. When you feel good as a hitter, balls just seem to find holes and sneak in for base hits and pitchers seem to hit their spots just a little bit more accurately. Many of these players still have a legitimate chance at making the major league roster, if not on April 1st, than at some point during the season. What they show on the field over the next month could determine their entire career trajectory, not to put more added pressure on their backs. The better the minor-leagues are, the better the major-league squad is going to be going  forward, so these are crucial at-bats and innings for these young players.

With the young kids aside, some of the major-leaguer level guys looked great Tuesday as well. Lester pitched 2 strong innings to begin the game, allowing 1 hit, 1 BB and striking out 1 batter. Aceves matched Lester, with just 1 hit and 1 BB allowed in 2 innings and then Papelbon, not to be outdone, threw a perfect 5th inning. Not too shabby for those 3, with Aceves having a lot more to prove in his effort to either be a back-up in AAA Pawtucket, or potentially a middle-relief bullpen guy in the majors. Depth is key and at this extremely early stage, the Sox look great in that department.

The ever-important Mayor’s Cup lead has returned to the Red Sox, as they sit 2-1 against the Twins. This is going to get excited…or something like that.

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