Most of the off-season, the media and fans of the Red Sox have been discussing who is the ace of the strong starting rotation. The majority came to the conclusion that Jon Lester is the guy that should toe the rubber on opening day at Fenway on April 4th. Although none of that has changed, Lester wasn’t making a strong case for that role on Friday against Minnesota. Lester’s control was poor as he labored through just one inning, allowing 4 ERs on 3 hits and 2 BBs. Not the start Sox management had hoped for their young lefty, but there is a long way to go before the regular season.
The bright spot of the day was Tim Wakefield. He threw 21 pitches, 16 strikes in 2 innings of work and allowed just one hit. Wakefield may have the most to prove of any Sox starter, as he fights for the 5th spot in the rotation. He has been telling the media that he deserves to be in the rotation and is now backing that up on the field. If healthy, Wakefield will at very least provide the Sox with another experienced option on the pitching staff.
The Red Sox offense was virtually invisible in today’s game, as they only scraped together 5 hits and 0 runs in their 5-0 loss to the Twins. With the Mayor’s Cup tied at 1, half the Sox players will play a third consecutive day against Minnesota tomorrow at City of Palms, while the rest of the team travels to Port Charlotte for a battle with AL East foes, the Tampa Bay Rays. Both games are at 1:05pm on Saturday.
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