If the current arrangement between John Lackey and the Red Sox offense was a marriage he’d definitely have grounds for divorce due to non-support.
Jul 31, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey (41) delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Boston has been shut out nine times this season, four times with Lackey on the mound, including three of his last six starts. Lackey has a 3.21 earned run average but the Red Sox are 9-11 in his starts and he is 7-9. It gets worse.
Lackey has gone at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs in 14 starts this season. He is 6-4 in those games with four no-decisions. The team is 8-6 in those games.
The Sox have averaged 3.45 runs in the 20 games Lackey has started. Compare that to the other primary starters this season:
Ryan Dempster: 6.22 runs (22 starts)
Jon Lester: 5.34 runs (23 starts)
Clay Buchholz: 5.25 runs (12 starts)
Felix Doubront: 4.90 runs (20 starts)
Others: 4.59 runs (17 starts)
It’s not even close. For whatever reason, Boston’s bats simply go flat when Lackey is on the bump. It makes matters worse for him since he has taken a beating over his years in Boston by both the media and fans for failing to be the stud pitcher they got from the Angels in 2010. Now that’s he healthy, attacking the strike zone and has returned to that form the team has picked a terrible time not to reward him.
“It’s all about winning the game more than anything,” Lackey was recently quoted as saying. “I can only control the way I pitch. Got to go out there and compete again in five days and try and get us another chance to win.”
Now if the rest of the team can pick him up down the stretch that would be a match made in heaven.