Jon Lester was about five feet from ending a career low-light with a career highlight.
The Chicago Cubs pitcher entered Wednesday night without a hit in 57 career at-bats. He almost changed that in a big way in the second inning, smacking a shot off Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
Alas, Nationals outfielder Denard Span had other plans.
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Span’s catch at the warning track pushed Lester to 0-for-58, giving him the MLB record set by pitcher Joey Hamilton in 1995 for the most hitless at-bats to start a career.
Lester whiffed in his next at-bat to move to 0-for-59 and hasn’t recorded a hit in 66 plate appearances, tying a record also set by Hamilton.
The 31-year-old deserves a bit of slack, as he got just 36 at-bats over nine seasons while playing in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics. In fact, given Lester’s spray chart entering Wednesday night, his deep blast actually was quite the accomplishment.
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Make that two!
Unfortunately, Lester was outmatched on the mound as well, striking out 10 but allowing solo homers to Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa in the Cubs’ 3-0 loss.
Thumbnail photo via Paul Beaty/Associated Press
