John Lackey to Christian Bethancourt: ‘You better f—ing run!'

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The TV cameras caught John Lackey’s read-my-lips moment as he screamed at Christian Bethancourt: “You better [expletive] run!” 

The Cubs wanted Lackey’s edgy personality, understanding he doesn’t care at all what the fans or the media think and will let opponents know exactly what he’s thinking on the mound.  

Lackey took a perfect game into the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, retiring the first 14 batters he faced before Bethancourt unleashed a vicious swing that would become the difference in a 1-0 game and a doubleheader sweep.

Bethancourt launched Lackey’s 77-mph curveball over the left-field bleachers and the Nuveen advertisement and onto Waveland Avenue. The Statcast projections: 109.1-mph exit velocity; 6.6-second hang time; 445-feet distance. Lackey felt like Bethancourt took his time walking out of the batter’s box, admiring the scene too much and breaking some unwritten code.

“How many home runs does he have?” Lackey wondered during his postgame news conference. “I got a long memory.”

Lackey made his big-league debut in 2002 and developed a cowboy reputation over the years, winning World Series rings with the Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox.    

At the age of 37, Lackey (4-2, 3.54 ERA) knows how to pitch and isn’t going to change now. That Bethancourt at-bat was Lackey’s only big mistake across eight innings, allowing two singles and finishing with seven strikeouts against zero walks.

Bethancourt – once a well-regarded catching prospect with the Atlanta Braves who’s only 24 and hasn’t spent a full year in The Show yet – now has three homers this season and apparently a problem with Lackey.

“He’ll learn,” Lackey said.

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