April Woes Continue for Lester as Red Sox Fall to Rangers 9-5

Box Score

Well Opening day is over and the Red Sox fail short to the Texas Rangers 9-5. Everyone was so excited about today and Lester getting his first Opening Day start. But there is one thing Red Sox fans should know about Jon Lester and that is he is not an April pitcher. Every year since he has entered the big leagues April is his worst month of the season.

Today was no different as Lester went 5.1 innings and he gave up six hits and five runs while walking one. This was not the worst Lester gave up all five runs off of three home runs this is the first time in his career he has done that. He also didn’t issue a strike out throughout the game; the last time he went without issuing a strike out was in 2008 against Detroit. Lester’s career in April he holds a 3-6 record with a 4.96.

Another pitcher that is normally lights out but struggled in his 2011 debut is Daniel Bard. Bard came in the eighth inning with a 5-5 after David Ortiz had just knocked out a home run to tie it up. Normally Bard is a flame thrower that is consistent in getting three straight starts as some including myself believe he is the closer of the future. Today was different Bard did not make it through the eighth as he faced seven batters and gave up four runs and was only able to strike out one. It was a rough day for Bard and he was issued the loss.

But there were several good things that came out of this game. I’ll start with David Ortiz getting his first homerun of the season. Last season it took him late into May to get his first homer so this could be a sign of a good start for Papi. Jacoby Ellsbury surprised people who thought that his days at lead off was over as he went 4-for-2 with a walk and on base by error also scored two runs. The most impressive story of the day was the debut Adrian Gonzalez in a Red Sox uniform that went 4-for-2 with three RBI and a stolen base.

So as you see that there was several good things came out of today’s game against the Rangers and remember that it is only the first game of the season. Also a fun fact out there for all of you Red Sox fans, the Sox lost opening day in 2004 and 2007. We know what happened those years we won the World Series. 04+07=11?