BOSTONIt was a career game for Jon Lester on Sunday, but certainly not the kind hell look back on and recall fondly, as the Blue Jays pummeled him on the way to a 15-7 win.
Lester lasted just four innings, plus two batters in the fifth, giving up 11 runs (all earned) on nine hits and five walks with two strikeouts, four home runs and a wild pitch. Lester needed 94 pitches, 52 strikes, to get through his outing.
He set new career-highs in runs and home runs allowed, and he tied his career mark for walks allowed.
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The ugly outing moved his record to to 5-8 and inflated his ERA to 5.46.
Red Sox pitchers have struggled in the first inning, and Lester has been no exception. With five runs allowed in the first, he has now given up runs in the first inning in five straight starts since June 27, extending a career-high. He now has a first-inning ERA of 5.85.
That Lester was able to get into the fifth inning is a surprise in itself. Early on, it looked like he would be done by the second.
Brett Lawrie gave Lester a quick taste of what the rest of his outing would be like, crushing the left-handers first pitch of the game over the Monster. The Blue Jays batted around in the first inning, scoring five runs. In all, the Jays had four hits, a home run, two doubles, a walk, and a strikeout with the batter reaching on Lesters wild pitch in just the first inning.
In the second, seven Jays went to the plate, scoring four runs. J.P Arencibia delivered the big blow, a three-run home run with two outs, followed by Rajai Davis solo shot to center.
Lester allowed the first batter in each of the five innings he started to reach base. Three of them scored.
He walked Davis to open the fifth. Travis Sniders home run to center scored Davis, ending Lesters outing.
The Sox answered back in the first on Adrian Gonzalezs three-run home run into the right field bleachers, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. In the fourth they got another run back, and Ellsburys lead-off homer in the fifthhis first of the seasonto straightaway center, made it 11-5 Blue Jays.
The Sox got two more in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Ryan Sweeney and Mike Aviles and a single off the wall by Nick Punto.
Mark Melancon entered in the eighth, giving up four runs in one-third of an inning.