Former Boston Red Sox ace Jon Lester made his first start as a member of the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, and he earned a fairly quiet win.
It was a quality start in an 8-3 victory against the Kansas City Royals, but Lester didn’t produce his most dominant stuff. All three runs were earned by Lester, and he struck out just three batters — quite a difference from his 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings — and issued a walk. He gave up nine hits.
Lester was pulled with two outs in the top of the seventh inning after surrendering two runs.
The southpaw received quite a bit of help from his teammates, however, as an eight-run fifth inning solidified Lester’s win. Former Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes contributed to that, as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Newly acquired outfielder Sam Fuld helped Lester out in the field, making an acrobatic throw in the fourth inning to gun down a runner at home plate and help save a run.
Photo via USA Today Sports
