Ever since receiving word that he had defeated lymphoma a year-and-a-half ago, Jon Lester has been trying to do everything within his power to shed the unsought labeling of being the pitcher who survived cancer. The left-hander made an enormous stride toward doing so last October, when he started and won the clinching game of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Last night at Fenway Park, however, the 24-year-old officially vanquished the tag by pitching the 18th official no-hitter in Sox history – the first by a lefty in nearly 52 years – in a 7-0 rout of the Kansas City Royals. Lester (3-2) reached the apex of an already storied career by striking out nine, walking two and facing only two more than the minimum. From this day forward, he will be most known for his on-field accomplishment rather than an off-the-field triumph.
Lester, whose cancer diagnosis came just before Labor Day 2006, recorded the third no-hitter in as many seasons at Fenway. Devern Hansack wrapped up the ’06 schedule with a rain-shortened, five-inning, 9-0 shutout of Baltimore, and rookie Clay Buchholz no-hit the Orioles, 10-0, last Sept. 1 in only his second big league start. Before Lester’s gem, the last Red Sox lefty to pitch a no-hitter was Mel Parnell in a 4-0 blanking of the Chicago White Sox on July 14, 1956. In dominating the Royals, Lester threw 130 pitches (86 strikes) and completed the masterpiece by striking out Alberto Callaspo on a 94 mph fastball. It was only the second no-hitter ever pitched against the Royals, the other being Nolan Ryan’s 3-0, 12-strikeout performance for the California Angels in Kansas City on May 15, 1973.
Sox Notes: Kevin Youkilis has nine home runs, including seven in his past 14 games. Hideki Okajima began throwing again yesterday after taking four days off with a sore left wrist. Francona was hopeful the reliever has gotten over the unspecified problem. Clay Buchholz, who was put on the disabled list May 14 with a broken nail on his right middle finger, is expected to be cleared to resume throwing sometime in the next day or two.
