With one out in the bottom of the 1st Wednesday night, Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada saw five straight Jon Lester fastballs to open his at-bat. Tejada took the first two for balls, then fell to an even count after a couple of fouls and a whiff. Then Lester brought a cutter that Tejada battled off. It was all just a setup for the curve that rolled up at 77 mph, 11 ticks below any of the previous pitches. The hitter didn’t stand a chance.
In all, four Mets fell victim to Lester’s bender, leading Len Kasper to remark at one point during the broadcast about the high swing-and-miss rate of the pitch and the fact that Joe Maddon has been trying to get his lefty ace to use it more often.