There Goes Another Undefeated Season

Well, Jon Lester always does start out slow.

I caught the first three inning of yesterday's 2011 opener in Texas with my compadres at Professor Thom's before having to go to work last night, and followed the rest on my cell phone. I saw the best of the Red Sox before I left.

Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and three RBI in his two at-bats. And for those of you who had him in the "Who Will Steal the First Red Sox Base of 2011" pool, you won. (And it was his first theft since April 2009, and second in his career). But it was a forgettable start for Carl Crawford, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and left runners in scoring position each time.

Lester was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but gave up a home run to Ian Kinsler, the first batter he faced, and I had a feeling it wouldn't be his day. He gave up three home runs in 5 1/3 innings, the first time he has ever given up three in a game. He walked one and didn't strike out a batter. April has never been Lester's month in his career so far.

David Ortiz hit a home run in the eighth to tie the game at 5, but Daniel Bard got torched in the bottom of the inning, giving up a cheap RBI double to David Murphy, and back-to-back RBI doubles to Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton. That made it the final, 9-5.

It was the first time the Red Sox have lost their opener since 2007. And I think we all know how that season finished.