 |
| Jim Rogash/Getty Images |
As
Maxwell Smart might say, "He missed it by that much."
Jon Lester was that close to a perfect game on Friday night, giving up only a first-pitch double to
Macier Izturis with two outs in the sixth. Other than that, no Blue Jay even
sniffed the basepaths in
the 5-0 win. Lester's brilliant performance reasserts his claim as—
at the very least—the 1A Ace of your Carmine Hose. The lefty was dazzling in a complete game gem—striking out five and walking none. His change-up was devastating—but ironically what
Jarrod Saltalamacchia called on the first pitch to Izturis. Said Salty, '
'As soon as the game was over I started thinking about it. Change up, first pitch. I'm going to have nightmares about it to be honest with you.'' The offense was provided mostly by
Daniel Nava,
Jacoby Ellsbury,
Will Middlebrooks,
Dustin Pedroia and Salty. But on this night, it was all Lester and how close he was to perfection.
