John Lackey Shows Shades Of D-Lowe

John Lackey was brought in, in my opinion to be a carbon copy of the 2004 Curt Schilling. Lackey was expected to be a veteran presence in the clubhouse that could also take the mound in big games and take away a win, like a strong veteran should. Instead, Lackey has looked more like Derek Lowe from 2000-2001.

Coming into the game against the Rockies, Lackey does hold a nice 8-3 record, surviving mostly on run support with an ERA of 4.53 and only 49 K's in 87.1 innings pitched (14 starts). Oddly enough, this has been one of Lackey's best starts to a season since his 2005 campaign with the Angels.

Injuries Effecting The AL East Race

With both Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka (making his return start tonight) landing on the DL a few times this season, Lackey is expected to be a #2 type starter or even comparable to an ace of the staff. Lackey opened the game with 3 K's and 1 hit in the first inning, looking like he was someone that we could really begin to trust in that role. J-Lack then harnessed his inner Derek Lowe in the second inning, allowing a 2-run home run to Miguel Olivo followed by 3 more ER's on 72 pitches while only having 1 out in the fourth inning (right after he allowed a double to Ubaldo Jimenez).

With the AL East race becoming closer and closer after making up so much ground in the division in the past two weeks, Lackey needs to be more like Curt Schilling and less like Derek Lowe. The run prevention premise doesn't quite hold up well at Coors field when Lackey allows each hitter to go deep to the gap every inning.

It's Like Being On The Round-Up At Canobie Lake

I later ate those words in the 6th inning when Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald hit the snot out of Ubaldo Jimenez to tie the game at 5 a piece with 2 outs. Then Lackey doubled and later scored on a Marco Scutaro single to take a 6-5 lead and get Ubaldo out of the game with 106 pitches.

Lackey then got it together and retired 10 straight batters on 110 pitches before allowing a single to Todd Helton with two down in the seventh, protecting the 1 run lead. Lackey looked more like the pitcher we expected him to be and less like a rocky road to loserville. Then Papelbon came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and allowed 2 HR, 3 ER on 7 pitches. A perfect ending to a roller coaster ride of a game.

With all of this in mind, don't forget to cast your vote on our newest poll. Should the Red Sox make a move before the trade deadline?

Thanks to phxwebguy for the photo of John Lackey.