Monday night at a rainy Fenway Park there were a few moments when it looked as if that trend might continue. As manager Terry Francona said prior to the start of the oddities surrounding some of Lackey’s efforts, "Sometimes those things have a way of running in spurts."
Lackey saw a Jed Lowrie error lead to the game’s first run and then committed one of his own, dropping a wet ball on a soft comebacker, that helped the Seattle Mariners tie the game with two more in the sixth. To that point he had given up six little singles and had struck out a season-high 10 men yet was mired in a 3-3 deadlock.
It had the makings of another frustrating night, but Lackey was able to overcome the issues and throw eight solid innings in what eventually became a 6-3 Red Sox win.
"It’s been a strange year, for sure," Lackey said. "I’ve been deep in a lot of games and it seems like there’s been one or two things where I’ve given up some runs … for the most part I’m giving us a chance to win."
That has been lost at times amid the un-Lackey-like numbers (4.51 ERA and a .287 opponents’ batting average). The right-hander has lasted eight innings in three of his last seven starts and now leads the team in both innings pitched and quality starts.
To illustrate the recent misfortune, the previous two times Lackey lasted eight innings he left with a sizable lead, only to see his bullpen implode. There was the start in Seattle last month when he threw 7 2/3 innings of no-hit ball and departed before the ninth began with a 6-1 advantage — the Red Sox blew the lead and had to rally to win 8-6 in 13 innings while Lackey was left with just about the best-looking no-decision one will ever see.
Four starts later in Toronto he took a 5-2 lead into the ninth, served up a solo homer and was promptly lifted in favor of closer Jonathan Papelbon, who gave up three more runs in a heartbeat. Lackey is once again an afterthought on a day in which he had some of his best stuff of the season.
On Monday, with an assist from a strong wind blowing in from center and another from a meager Seattle attack, he made that quality stuff hold up.
After the Lowrie error allowed an unearned run to score in the third, Lackey set down the Mariners in order in the fourth and fifth. Following Casey Kotchman’s two-run single to tie it in the sixth, the big Texan retired eight of the last nine men he faced.
Lackey was so dominant, so efficient at times that it was almost hard to remember what led to the Seattle scoring in the first place.
"You looked up and saw the three runs and you were like, '[Darn], where did they come from?'" Francona said.
There may be a similar reaction when the season ends for Lackey. Barring anything unforeseen he’ll have ample opportunity to reach 15 wins for just the second time in his career. He may throw more innings than anyone on a staff loaded with established starting pitching.
Sure, Lackey will probably lead the staff in hits and runs allowed and his ERA will likely finish above 4.00 for the first time in six years. But the big picture will look pretty good when it’s all said and done. Such was the case on Monday.
