Lester: 'I've Let My Team Down A Lot This Year'
BOSTON (CBS) - Fresh off the worst outing of his career, Jon Lester did not mince words.
"It's embarrassing," he said of Boston's 15-7 loss on Sunday, where he allowed a career-high 11 earned runs over four innings. "I've let my team down a lot this year."
Lester was pulled in the fifth inning, without recording an out, and left to boos from the Fenway crowd. He is now 5-8 on the season with a 5.46 ERA, with the Red Sox going 7-13 in games he pitches.
Lester surrendered five runs in the first inning, including one of the four home runs the Blue Jays hit on the day off the first pitch he threw. In his last three outings, Lester is 0-3 with a 15.32 ERA.
"It's hard for me to walk around this clubhouse and look guys in the eye right now. I'm not pitching well," said Lester. "I'm not doing my job. Guys scored seven runs today. We should win this game. Like I said, it's embarrassing. That's all I can really say about it."
"It's getting old," he added. "I'm not a big fan of sucking, to put it lightly."
When asked what is wrong, Lester couldn't single out anything in particular.
"Name it, everything," he said.
"[My confidence] is obviously not as high as its highest it's ever been. The thing is no one is going to feel sorry for me. I have to go out and pitch better. I have to pitch better," he said. "I'm not worried about my confidence, I'm not worried about my mechanics. I'm not worried about anything but just trying to execute pitches, and I'm not doing that. I've got to get back to trying to keep it simple. I can't worry about the outcome. It cliched and sounds stupid but if I just try to get back to basics of keeping the ball down, up down, and change speeds, maybe things will be different."
Lester is next scheduled to take the mound Saturday against the Yankees in New York.
