Lester Still Set To Pitch Saturday Against Yankees
BOSTON (CBS) - Red Sox starter Jon Lester will make his next scheduled start against the New York Yankees Saturday in the Bronx, manager Bobby Valentine announced Monday.
It was thought that Lester, coming off his worst career outing after allowing 11 earned runs to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, could have his next start skipped to let the struggling starter figure things out.
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But Valentine decided against it, hoping to boost Lester's confidence prior to the start against the Yanks.
"We got a nice proactive plan. He's going to throw Wednesday -- maybe throw to a couple of hitters, get a little feel for a couple of his pitches," Valentine said from Arlington, Texas. "He says he feels great. He's throwing the ball as well as he's thrown the ball in a couple of years. We've just got to get him to a point where his good stuff is getting hitters out. He says he's ready to do that."
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Lester is 5-8 with a 5.48 ERA this season. He is 0-3 with a 10.42 ERA for the month of July.
The Sox lefty has yet to pitch at Yankee Stadium this season, but went 2-1 there last year despite allowing 15 earned runs over 14.2 innings pitched.
In his only outing against New York this season, Lester allowed five runs (four earned) over 4.1 innings pitched in a 7-3 loss at Fenway on July 8.
