Jon Lester will take the mound for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday — that much is set in stone. Who will get the nod for the Red Sox in Game 2 is a bit more of a mystery.
Clay Buchholz was Boston’s Game 2 starter against Detroit in the American League Championship Series, but CSNNE’s Sean McAdam reports that “[all] indications are” that it will be John Lackey who gets the ball for the second game of the Fall Classic on Thursday.
This is still subject to change, however, as manager John Farrell told reporters Monday that the rest of the rotation after Lester has not yet been decided upon.
“We haven’t gotten into that specifically,” Farrell said (via MassLive.com). “The only thing, today, what we’ll announce is that Jon Lester will go Game 1. … We’re still in the process of familiarizing ourselves with the Cardinals. If there’s any need to make an adjustment, we’ll take a look at that as we go forward.”
Starting Lackey makes sense on a number of levels. His home-road splits have been widely discussed (Lackey’s ERA of 2.47 at Fenway Park this season is more than two full runs lower than his ERA elsewhere), and his last outing — allowing four hits and zero walks over 6 2/3 scoreless innings in Detroit — was one of the finest of any Sox pitcher this postseason.
The Red Sox and Cardinals will begin their series Wednesday night, with first pitch for Game 1 scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.
