MLB: Seven innings without a run? 419 ft HR? Ohtani, not this time!

The veteran southpaw Jon lester he had been searching for answers. His last two starts had lasted six innings combined, and something had to change in the second half of his 16th season. Step 1: He pitches seven scoreless innings. Step 2: Hit a home run just in case.

Lester did it all in the victory of the Washington Nationals by 18-1 scoreline over the Miami Marlins on Monday at Nationals Park. The experienced left-hander made his longest outing since July 27, 2019, as a member of the Chicago Cubs:

Lester allowed six hits and struck out seven with 81 efficient pitches (59 strikes). By comparison, he used 80 pitches to go 2 2/3 innings in his last start on July 10 in San Francisco. Lester improved to 3-4 on the season and posted his 196 career victory.

Lester had thrown to a 2-4 record with a 5.54 ERA in the first half of the season. Six of his 14 starts had lasted four innings or less, and his strikeout rate per nine innings dropped to 6.0. But Lester clearly seemed revitalized when he returned from the All-Star break with an eight-day rest between starts.

Lester may have drawn even more attention with his plate work, where a line single to right field in the second inning was just a preview of what he had in store.

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In the fifth, he hit a 419-foot home run projected by Statcast to center field off a 92.5 mph fastball from David Hess for his fourth career home run. His family was in the stands to witness the not-so-common occurrence: It was Lester’s fourth career homer, and his fourth and fifth hits of the season.

Rafael Martinez

I am fond of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. Bachelor of Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services in Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and within days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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