Jon Lester sets record for futility at the plate by starting career 0-for-58
If we told you that Jon Lester and Max Scherzer set an MLB record Wednesday night during the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals game, you might think it had something to do with the number of millions on the mound. After all, they were the two biggest free agents of the past offseason.
Not quite. But this did have something to do with zeroes.
Lester, hitting in the second inning against Scherzer, set an MLB record by starting his career 0-for-58 at the plate. Lester hit a deep fly out to Denard Span that looked like it might just break his streak of futility. Alas, Span caught it and Lester moved past former San Diego Padres pitcher Joey Hamilton, who started his career 0-for-57 before getting a hit in 1995.
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Following the deep fly out, Lester struck out in his second at-bat of the game, increasing his “record” to 0-for-59.
The Cubs didn’t pay Lester $155 million for his bat, so this isn’t a huge disappointment in Wrigleyville. In fact, fans in Chicago are much happier with Lester these days, after he rebounded from his slow start to the season.
Though he took the loss in Wednesday night’s pitcher’s duel with Scherzer — the Nats won 3-0 — Lester tossed seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out 12. He’s nearly cut his ERA in half after finishing April at 6.23. Lester’s currently 4-3 with a 3.30 ERA.
And we’re pretty sure the Cubs would take 0-for-2s at the plate from Lester all season if he’s striking out 12 batters on the mound.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
