Jon Lester talks about pitching jitters after outing against Boston Red Sox minor Leaguers
Things looked great for Jon Lester recently when he went out to the field in Fort Myers, Florida, to pitch against the Boston Red Sox minor Leaguers. The Opening Day pitcher was in the game to prove that he’s up to his best and that he’s ready to take the
Major League Baseball challenge to the higher level. The maestro is looking to pitch against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, on Friday and this outing provided a lot of insight into his form.
The player made his final start of Spring Training against the Minor Leaguers that included the likes of Lars Anderson and Ryan Kalish. The hurler was looking for answers and much to his surprise, he found them.
"Yeah, I think for the most part," Lester said. "Up and down five times, got to the pitch count that [pitching coach] Curt [Young] wanted me to get to. I pitched out of some jams, had some errors and kind of overcome that. I think it was pretty good as far
as preparing for a season. Kind of everything that could happen in a game happened. You just try to control your emotions and focus on the next pitch."
Looking back at the game Lester pitched in, he managed to provide the Red Sox with five innings on the mound. In his playing time on the mound, he gave up five runs off nine hits. Four of the runs that were conceded, were earned. In his 77 pitch count, 50
went for strikes. Much to the team’s pleasure, the ball thrower converted 5 strike outs from the stint, while walking no one.
If the player tends to offer the same display against the Rangers, that will not go well for him. The hardest thing to do Lester’s case is to simulate a pre-season game as a real one from the major leagues.
"As far as that, there was some adrenaline," said Lester. "But you can never simulate what happens in a game. No matter how hard you try, you just can't do it."
Regardless what happened recently, there is still no real game outing for the player. Will things go well when the Rangers come to the batting Box? At the moment, Lester knows better.
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