Really, Jon? Really? Yankees Crush Sox 9-1

Admit it. You looked at the Jon Lester - Freddy Garcia matchup for Saturday afternoon and felt pretty good about the Red Sox shaving another game off the schedule and getting closer to securing the American League Wild Card. And after a 1-2-3 bottom of the 1st in which Lester needed only 9 pitches, you were feeling REALLY good.

And then Marco Scutaro botched a simple ground ball in the bottom of the 2nd and the next thing you know Captain Intangibles is hitting his 6th home run of the season to right field (puh-lease...I've seen wiffle ball fields with more challenging dimensions than what passes for right field in the Bronx) and the Red Sox are looking up at the wrong end of a 6-0 score.

Lester didn't get out of the 3rd inning, charged with 8 runs. He gave up 8 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. His last three outings have been - to be kind - rough (you might choose stronger language) leading some to believe that Lester is trying to pitch through an injury. For his part, after the game he said, “I’m not tired. I’m not hurt. There’s nothing wrong with me. It’s nothing physical.”

Perhaps not, but it's something. And on an afternoon when Boston absolutely needed a win if only for their own self-confidence as a team, Jon Lester was unable to get out of the 3rd inning. With Tim Wakefield and John Lackey scheduled to start the doubleheader on Sunday, Lester's failure on Saturday takes on an even bigger significance.