The Red Sox will have a relatively rested Jon Lester available to come back on short rest if they need to win the regular season finale in Baltimore.
The bad news?
Nobody knows what the heck Lester can provide.
In what amounts to the most troubling swoon of his otherwise stellar career, Lester has fallen flat in three straight critical games against Boston's primary competition in the American League East.
And on Saturday in Yankee Stadium, Lester's decline reached new depths.
Lester allowed eight runs on eight hits and a walk in just 2 2/3 innings of a 9-1 loss — Boston's 17th in 22 games this month. The lefty has been on the mound for four of those losses and is looking nothing like the shutdown presence on which the Red Sox rely.
Especially in times like this.
Lester has now given up 16 runs in 13 2/3 innings over his last three starts, two against the still-kicking Tampa Bay Rays and one against the rival Yankees on the last Saturday of the season. He's struck out 10 while walking eight in that span and has given up home runs in consecutive starts for the first time in over three months.
The latest of those blasts was a three-run shot by Derek Jeter in the bottom of the second Saturday. That capped an inning that seemed to exemplify just how horrendous the Red Sox have been for the entirety of this month, at the plate, on the mound and in the field.
After Freddy Garcia retired the side on seven pitches in Boston's half of the second, Lester began his half with a quick out before giving up a single to Robinson Cano. Then came a walk to Nick Swisher — the walk rate for Lester has gone from 2.06 per nine innings between June and July to 4.34 between August and September.
Lester got what he needed on the next batter, a soft grounder to the right of shortstop Marco Scutaro, who had a legit force play to third base right in front of him. However, third baseman Mike Aviles strayed off the bag and Scutaro had to try a jump-throw to second, which was too late.
The bases were loaded with just one out. However, Lester's the kind of guy that can pick up a struggling defense, or, for that matter, a struggling offense. Or just a struggling team. In fact, that's one reason he has the reputation he does.
Instead, he threw three straight balls to rookie Jesus Montero and then grooved a 3-1 offering that the 21-year-old smacked into left field for an RBI single.
The defense would fail Lester once again when Russell Martin's blooper to left went off the glove of a sliding Carl Crawford. It went in the books as a two-run single, but Crawford, the 2010 Gold Glove Award winner at the position, would be the first to tell you he should've had it.
And Lester will be the first to tell you he should've picked up his teammate. Again.
But he didn't, serving up a first-pitch homer to Jeter that made it 6-0 and probably gave Terry Francona his first thoughts of taking out Lester early and preserving him for that Wednesday start, just in case.
Those thoughts became reality when the Yankees struck for two more runs in the third and Francona made the extremely early stroll to the mound.
A slump is a slump, but Lester's is especially concerning for two reasons. For one, its timing is horrendous. Also, it comes on the heels of his best stretch of the season, presenting a remarkable contrast that has to have the lefty, and all who have watched him, scratching their respective heads.
In five starts before he seemingly hit the wall, Lester was 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA. He struck out 32 in 36 innings while limiting opponents to just three hits in four of those outings. However, he's given up 21 hits in 13 2/3 innings over the three-start slide. Seven have gone for extra bases.
It all begs the question: Is Lester hurt? He shot down such an insinuation Saturday, telling reporters "I'm not tired. I'm not hurt."
So, there's that. And because he only threw 55 pitches Saturday, the short rest aspect of it won't mean as much if and when Lester is needed for the clincher.
Therefore, in some regards, the glass is half full. Then why does it feel so empty?
