RED SOX : News & Notes March 31,2014.

RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
March 31,2014.






~Lester - 1st lefty to start 4 openers : With his fourth Opening Day start, Jon Lester will become the first Red Sox lefty to total more than three, surpassing Babe Ruth and Mel Parnell.

~Lester vs Orioles : Lester 15-3 in 25 starts for his career against Baltimore. His 2.94 ERA vs. the Orioles is the best of any active pitcher (with min. of 115 innings) vs. the O’€™s. He is 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA at Camden Yards, the best ERA for any opposing pitcher in the history of the stadium.

~Only 4 Sox pitchers have more Opening starts : Only Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens (7), and Dennis Eckersley and Cy Young (5) have more consecutive Opening Day starts than Lester.

~Losing streak against Orioles : The Red Sox have lost their last three Opening Day matchups against the Orioles, with the most recent tilt coming in 2004 when Martinez got the loss.

~Happy 10th for 'Big Papi' : This will be David Ortiz‘€™ 10th Opening Day start for the Red Sox, tying him with Wade Boggs and Dom DiMaggio for eighth on the team’€™s all-time list. He will also match the most Opening Day starts with one team by a designated hitter in baseball history, tying Hal McRae and Edgar Martinez. The 12 starts in openers for his career also allows Ortiz to equal Don Baylor’€™s record.

~Pedroia needs a hit for record : Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in each of his seven openers, tying a team record. In the last 100 years, no Red Sox has hit safely in eight straight Opening Day games.

~Away from Fenway again : The Red Sox are 55-57-1 in openers, having claimed victories in four of their last six. It is also the fourth year in a row they have opened on the road. In fact, the Sox have begun their regular season away from Fenway Park in 16 of the last 19 seasons.