Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester said he's physically fine despite having his first second-half start pushed back from Sunday against the Yankees to Tuesday against the Rays. Lester said, "Nobody’s feeling great. But nothing to worry about."
"Just coming out of the break, just general wear and tear through the first half of the season," Red Sox manager John Farrell said, per WEEI.com. "We have an opportunity to give [Lester] a couple of extra days coming out of the break and two, he’ll benefit from it."
After starting the season 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA, Lester is 2-6 with a 6.27 ERA in his last 11 starts. He's spent time tweaking his mechanics and pitch selection. In his last start against the A's, Lester threw less cutters and a season-high 28 changeups.
"I think a lot of times you get to where that pitch kind of stands out and is glaring as far as giving up hits. But I throw it a lot. That’s my pitch," he explained of his cutter. "It’s kind of like saying, ‘Hey, you’re giving up a lot of hits on your fastball.’ I’m not going to not throw it. I think that’s where the misunderstanding happened with what John [Farrell] said as far as making adjustments and stuff like that. Yeah, we’ve made adjustments. I’ve thrown a lot more changeups this year than I ever have. I think the more you throw it, the more confidence you get with it."