The NATural

The much anticipated future of the Boston Red Sox, left handed starter John Lester, had his best of his three pro starts last night with 10 strike outs and only one earned run in 6 innings of work against the slumping Washington Nationals. Even more impressive was the once again high scoring Red Sox offense whose 9 runs were clearly enough in the 9-3 win and sweep of the ex-Expos.

The biggest pop of the night came from Big Papi David Ortiz who crushed a grand slam to center in the 2nd inning, giving the Sox a quick 4-0 lead. Alex Gonzalez (2 for 4, two runs) and Trot Nixon (3 for 5, two runs, two RBIs) also had big nights. The starting pitching, however, has really been the key to the recent 6 game winning streak:

From the Boston Globe: Over the last six games, while Matt Clement and David Wells remain on the disabled list, the starters' run totals have looked like this: 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1. Those three runs? They belong to Kyle Snyder, the righthander picked up from the Royals who is no longer with the major league club.

That being said it is the offense that has finally come around, out scoring Atlanta and Washington 39-20 in the two series.

Pesky and Papi

The other topic clogging Boston sports radio all morning is the admission by former Red Sox pitcher Paxton Crawford that he used steroids and human growth hormone while with the Sox. Crawford, who made the starting rotation in 2001 and currently shovels sh*t in Louisiana or where ever his parents have a farm, gives a rousing endorsement of the benefits of the performance enhancing drugs saying they gave him an extra 5 mph on his fast ball and extra drop on his curve. It is the first significant mention of steroids and the Red Sox with the exception of whistleblower Jose Canseco.