Right up till the Midsummer Classic, Jon Lester pitched like a true ace. He led the Chicago Cubs to the league’s best record, earning his fifth career All-Star selection. In mid-July, he looked likely to crack 20 wins for the first time in his big league career.
But, suddenly, things took a turn for the worse. After cruising through his first 19 outings to the tune of a 2.58 earned run average, something changed. In his four second half starts, the three-time World Series champion carries a bloated 8.53 ERA to go along with a 1.895 WHIP.
His strikeout rate is down and walk rate is up.