Leading that championship team was the solid 1-2 punch with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but do they rank as the best 1-2 punch for 2011? Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are one of the tandems that dispute that claim.
Last season, Lester and Buchholz both finished in the top six of the AL Cy Young voting – something no other teammates did in either league.
The two may not be the best on paper, but they certainly have the potential to contest as the best 1-2 in the 2011 season.
Last year, Lester finished with a 19-9 record, 3.25 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 225 strikeouts. Since his 0-2 start with an 8.44 ERA, he closed out the rest of the year with a 19-7 record, 2.81 ERA and 9.89 strikeouts per nine innings.
To complement Lester, Buchholz had a 17-7 record with a phenomenal 2.33 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
Terry Francona recognizes the two as elite pitchers in the league now.
"They're two young, strong athletic pitchers that went from being good young pitchers to good pitchers — two of the elite pitchers in the league. I think they're built to be durable, and I think they're both going to get better. That's exciting."
Theo Epstein also sees them as one of the best combos in baseball.
"Lester, just having a second straight dominant campaign like that I think validates what he did last year and what he's become," Epstein said. "I think there's sort of no question he's one of the top left-handed pitchers in this game. And Clay, [2010] was his season in which he emerged and started to fulfill all the promise that he carried through the Minor Leagues and that he showed initially coming to the big leagues."
Despite their recent success, Lester and Buchholz have established a place near the top, but they’re still not the best 1-2 punch in baseball. That honor must go to Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. The names speak for themselves.
Below are my top five 1-2 punches in the majors.
1. Halladay – Lee: Both are recent Cy Young winners, and each is one of the best pitchers in the entire league. Lee led the league with a 1.00 WHIP, while Halladay barely trailed with 1.04. It would be very difficult to best this duo in a playoff series.
2. Lincecum – Cain: They're the reigning World Series champs. "The Freak" had 231 strikeouts last year and won back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2008 and 2009, while Cain tossed 21.1 scoreless innings in last year's postseason.
3. Lester – Buchholz: The two combined for a 38-16 record with a 2.83 ERA and 345 strikeouts last season. Both have no-hitters in their resume, as well.
4. Chris Carpenter – Adam Wainwright: The two Cardinals combined for a 36-20 record, 2.82 ERA and 392 strikeouts last season. Wainwright is quietly one of the best pitchers in the league.
5. Zach Greinke – Yovani Gallardo: Greinke is finally playing on a good team with an offense to back him, while Gallardo is only 24 and strikes out 9.73 batters per nine innings. However, Gallardo needs to solve his post all-star break struggles (5.77 ERA in 2010 and 4.56 ERA in 2009).
Where do you think Lester and Buchholz rank in the MLB as best 1-2 punches?
