Projo Sox Blog

It was power and precision matched up against guile and deception for eight flawless innings tonight at Fenway Park, and ultimately power prevailed in what may have been the best night of pitching at Fenway this season.

Brian Bannister, the cerebral Kansas City Royal, dueled with Jon Lester, the big lefty with power stuff and a loaded arsenal of pitches.

The batters were almost an afterthought: it seemed like the pitchers were facing only each other. Lester would take the mound, and blow Royal hitters away with his 97-mph fastball, his cutter, and his newly developed changeup. Then Bannister would come up and fool Sox batters with his 89-mph "heat" and his cutter, curve, and slider. The crowd seemed to sense the rarity of such a dramatic pitching performance in a park known for its hitting.

"If I paid to come watch this game, that would be fun," said manager Terry Francona, who has seen his share of games in his life in baseball.

Finally, it was Bannister who blinked first. In the eighth inning, Mark Kotsay singled and Nick Green bunted pinch runner Aaron Bates over on second. Bannister threw his 109th pitch into the ground in front of home plate, a wild pitch that let Bates advance to third. Then Dustin Pedroia slammed Bannister's next offering, an 86-mph change-up, hard off the Green Monster, bringing home Bates and giving Boston its 1-0 lead.

Bannister knew the hook was coming. He hugged his catcher, Olivo, threw up his hands towards the sky, and trudged back to the Kansas City dugout knowing that even his best hadn't been enough.

"There was just a lot of emotion out there tonight," Bannister said, reflecting on the hug, and his moment at Fenway.

"I got to come out to Sweet Caroline, with a one-hit shutout at Fenway. I don't know how long the list is of guys that have done that, but I feel pretty privileged to be on it," he said.

That left Lester as the last man standing. He watched from the dugout as Jonathan Papelbon closed out his win with a powerful inning.

Bannister went 7.2 innings, allowing three hits and four walks (one intentional), while striking out seven Sox. For him, despite the outcome, it was a game he'll never forget.

"It was as good a game as I've ever pitched in my life," Bannister said.

With his eighth win in his pocket, Lester felt a little compassion for his foe -- knowing how hard Bannister fought, only to take the loss.

"You know, he pitched great. He did -- it kind of sucks to get a loss that way. You know he's battling. But it was just a fun night on both sides," Lester said.

Lester threw eight innings, gave up four hits, and struck out eight. He was well aware of what Bannister was doing across from him, but tried to force it out of his mind and focus on the hitters alone.

"You've still got to bear down and make pitches, regardless of what the guy on the other side is doing. You try not to worry about that - with our guys the way it usually works, is the longer you are able to pitch, the better chance you get to win," Lester said.

Lester cranked his fastball up to 97 mph, a speed he couldn't have reached at this time last year. His cutter jammed hitters, and his recently-developed changeup kept them off balance. It was an overpowering performance, and Lester recognized that last year, coming off treatment for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, he might not have been able to pitch like this.

"Last year at this time or in May of last year, I was throwing 91-92, or maybe 93-94 if I got on it. Obviouly this year I'm a little stronger and further away from treatment. So, I seems like the further and further I get, the stronger I get and the better I feel," Lester said.

The only Royal who could touch him all night was Mark Teahen; he had three of Kansas City's four hits.

With both pitchers gunning down hitters easily, there was little action in the early parts of the game. One moment of excitement came when Jacoby Ellsbury was on third base and Mark Kotsay stood on first, and Kotsay tried to advance on a ball in the dirt. Kotsay was caught in a rundown, and Ellsbury tried to score -- but was called out at the plate, and then ejected for throwing his helmet.

That brought Rocco Baldelli into the game, and his strong throwing arm allowed Boston to record a key out that Ellsbury might not have notched. Baldelli gunned down Mark Teahen attempting to tag up and reach second base for the second out of the seventh inning. With men on first and second, Baldelli made the catch on Miguel Olivo's deep fly ball at the warning track, and uncorked a quick throw that nailed Teahen just as he slid into second.

That took the fire out of the Royal rally, leaving the game scoreless heading into the seventh, and setting the stage for the Boston offense to do what it does best.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Dan Barbarisi Dustin Pedroia Jon Lester

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