In the bottom of the first inning of Tuesday's game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, starter Jon Lester nailed Mark Teixeira in the knee with a pitch. Teixeira collapsed to the ground in obvious agony and had to be removed, unable to put any weight on his leg. At that point, one question lingered on everybody's mind: was he okay?
Red Sox Vs. Yankees: Jon Lester Overcomes Adversity Of Hurting Mark Teixeira, Wins
Jon Lester knocked Mark Teixeira out of Tuesday’s game in the first with a pitch to the knee, but miraculously bounced back to spin six effective innings.
Lester, I mean. Was Lester okay after inflicting such blinding pain on someone else with an errant fastball?
Thankfully, according to Jon Lester, Jon Lester was fine.
“It’s tough to hit a guy like that and see him kind of go off the field not feeling too good,” Lester said. “Too be able to get back up on the mound and throw strikes was key.”
Lester shook off the early adversity, and wound up working six effective innings as the Red Sox knocked off the Yankees 6-4 to start the three-game series.
By the time Teixeira got hit and left, the Sox were already up 3-0. Jacoby Ellsbury started the game by taking Freddy Garcia's fifth pitch up and out to right field. It was Ellsbury's seventh home run of the year, and the fourth leadoff home run of his career. Two batters later, Adrian Gonzalez ripped an RBI triple to score Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis promptly launched a sac fly to score Gonzalez. After four hitters, Garcia had already allowed more runs than in his four previous starts.
The Yankees got a run back in the bottom half when Robinson Cano singled home Curtis Granderson, but Nick Swisher grounded out with two down and the bases loaded, and the Sox came right back in the second to go up 4-1. Dustin Pedroia knocked an RBI double, and Garcia was removed after intentionally walking Gonzalez. At 1-2/3 innings, Tuesday was Garcia's shortest start since last July.
The Red Sox added two more in the fifth off Hector Noesi, who threw six(!) innings of long relief. With one out and one on, David Ortiz turned on a low-inside fastball and blasted a ball out to right to establish a commanding 6-1 lead.
The Yankees got the runs back in the bottom half on Nick Swisher's two-run double. However, their rally was stopped there, and they couldn't get anything going again until the ninth. Jonathan Papelbon was brought in to protect a 6-3 lead, and he allowed a two-out RBI single to Jorge Posada that brought the tying run to the plate. Papelbon, though, slammed the door by striking out Alex Rodriguez with a 97-mph outside fastball.
The save was Papelbon's 12th of the season and 200th of his career, establishing a new record for being the quickest to reach 200 saves. Papelbon got there in 359 appearances, while Mariano Rivera reached the mark after 382.
Lester allowed three runs and 11 baserunners in his six innings, with five strikeouts and two hit batters. He hit Russell Martin just three batters after hitting Teixeira. But he did settle down, succeeding despite come-and-go command. Sneakily, few will notice the two hit batters, and more will notice the single base on balls.
X-rays on Teixeira's knee, by the way, were negative, and he's considered day-to-day. He's unlikely to play Wednesday. Two people who are likely to play Wednesday are Tim Wakefield and A.J. Burnett, who stand as the designated starters. Given that the Red Sox and Yankees are tied for first in the AL East, it'll be a big game, just like they always are.
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