FORT MYERS, Fla. –– Jon Lester didn't have the normal adrenaline. As he took the mound in Wednesday's B-game against the Twins, the Red Sox southpaw was not as sharp as he would like.
"There's 14 people in the stands," Lester said. "It doesn't matter who's batting, your adrenaline is still not there. Plus, it's 10 o'clock in the morning. It's a tough setting to really get that extra [gear]. You can tell that with [the hitters], too. Their timing's off. They haven't had [batting practice] unless they got here at 6 in the morning. It's a tough setting."
Turns out, the Red Sox' 4-1 win was also a laid-back setting. With a runner on second and two outs in the second frame, both teams elected to immediately switch sides since Lester had reached his pitch limit for the inning.
After three frames –– looking past the technicality –– he walked two batters, yielded just one hit and tossed 44 pitches, 26 of which were strikes. But Lester's objective for the outing was to focus on his changeup.
"You can envision throwing them in really any count," Lester said of the changeups. "It's just a matter of getting that feel. Changeups are such a feel pitch for me that if I can get it to where I'm comfortable all the time with it, it's good. That's the biggest thing for me. If you can be consistent and have that feel, it's a pitch you can always go to."
Lester still hasn't dabbled with his curveball in his two starts this spring. He plans to wait to build more arm strength before unleashing the pitch.
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