How Will John Lackey Fare at Fenway Park?
That's only because as a hurler for the Angels, Lackey struggled mightily when toeing the slab at the beloved Boston bandbox. Needless to say, the Nation is hoping his luck changes now that he's on the other side of the lineup card.
In nine career starts at Fenway Park, Lackey is just 2-5 with a colossal 5.75 ERA. He went winless in his first four career starts at the Fens and despite notching two total wins there, only one — his July 28, 2008 complete-game two-hitter — can be considered a solid outing.
Lackey has fallen victim to the long ball in the homer-happy abode, posting a 1.41 HR/9 innings percentage (eight homers in 51 2/3 innings) compared to a career mark of 0.9 (151 homers in 1,501 innings pitched). But how many starters haven't struggled against the Red Sox at Fenway Park?
It's difficult to determine how hitters will fare against Lackey at Fenway — statistically speaking, it's nearly impossible, since Red Sox batters have obviously been the only ones he's faced there. Speaking of stats, Nomar Garciaparra, Kevin Millar, Kevin Youkilis, Doug Mirabelli and David Ortiz have each popped one homer apiece off Lackey at the Fens. The final three homers belong to none other than Manny Ramirez, who will be returning to Fenway in mid-June for the first time since being traded to the Dodgers two years ago.
It's going to take more than a couple of starts to determine how Lackey will fare this season with the short, tall porch in left and Pesky's Pole a bloop away in right. It took Josh Beckett a full season to get used to pitching at Fenway as he came away from the 2006 campaign — his first in Boston — with a 16-11 record. Those 11 losses still stand as the highest single-season loss total of his 10-year career. Same goes for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who went 15-12 in his first season before spinning a 18-3 season in his second year.
How do you think Lackey will do in his first season at Fenway Park?
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