9:00 p.m. EDT: Lester left Tuesday’s game with a strained left lat muscle. The Red Sox didn’t even try calling him day-to-day, so it sounds like he’ll be placed on the DL on Wednesday. Michael Bowden could be called up to help out of the pen until a fifth starter is needed.
8:45 p.m. EDT: The Red Sox have gone an unusually long time without any update on Lester’s condition, which doesn’t seem like very good news. Plus, Jose Bautista just broke up the Lester-Albers combined no-hitter that lasted 5 2/3 innings.
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No word yet on what might be wrong, but Jon Lester was just removed from his start against the Blue Jays on Tuesday after throwing four hitless innings.
Lester showed no sign of injury on his final pitch of the fourth, a cutter that caught Adam Lind looking. The Red Sox, however, got Matt Albers up in the bottom of the inning and brought him in to replace Lester in the top of the fifth.
Lester, who wasn’t picked for next week’s All-Star Game, is 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA this season. He left with a 3-0 lead tonight, but since he didn’t go five, he’ll be ineligible for the victory.
If Lester joins rotation mates Clay Buchholz (back) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (elbow) on the DL, the Red Sox could pull Alfredo Aceves out of the bullpen to replace him. Alternatively, they have Kevin Millwood in Triple-A. Since a poor debut with Pawtucket, he has a 3.47 ERA and a 33/10 K/BB ratio in 36 1/3 innings.