Jon Lester Home Runs
Table of Content
- Nationals' Jon Lester hits 4th career home run in blowout win vs. Marlins
- Jon Lester records 2,000th career strikeout, hits first career home run on same day
- Jon Lester's two-run homer
- What stunning Correa signing means for Mets
- 'No collusion' in free agency says MLB exec before proceeding to describe textbook collusion
"The runs and all that stuff, I try not to pay attention to that . The big thing for me is not a lot of walks, which is good. It means I'm staying in the zone consistently and getting early contact." Last July 6, Lester ended a streak of 67 career at-bats without a hit when he singled off his buddy, John Lackey, who was pitching for the Cardinals. Now, Lackey and Lester are teammates again on the Cubs. The two have a little competition going this season regarding their hitting. That was the first career homer for Lester and it probably carries more weight under the circumstances.
With the Cubs already leading the Pirates 7-0 in the third inning, Lester helped his own cause at the plate. The Cubs starting pitcher took Pirates pitcher Chris Stratton deep for his first home run of 2019. The 406-foot blast is only the second home run in Lester’s career. His first came last August against the Diamondbacks and landed in the same area in left field. Yes, the man who didn’t have a hit in his first 36 at-bats now has a designated landing zone in the Wrigley bleachers. "We weren't allowed to swing most of the time," Lester said of his pre-Cubs days.
Nationals' Jon Lester hits 4th career home run in blowout win vs. Marlins
He now has five home runs in four games since the All-Star break. Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester accomplished a couple of individual milestones in totally opposite directions on Tuesday night in Wrigley Field against the Diamondbacks. When Lester drove Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin’s fastball over the left-center field wall, he earned his first-career home run, sending Wrigley Field into a frenzy. When Lester joined the Cubs in 2015, he held an 0-for-36 line at the plate with just one career walk to his name. While he's now hitting just .121 in his Cubs career, the 35-year-old has now hit a home run in three-straight seasons.
A bit later, Lester recorded his ninth strikeout of the night, which was good for the 2,000th in his career. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream Cubs games easily on your device.
Jon Lester records 2,000th career strikeout, hits first career home run on same day
Ryan Gaydos is the sports editor for Fox News Digital.
Lester, who will start the Cubs' second regular-season game next Tuesday against the Angels, had never hit a home run in his professional career at any level -- Minor League, big leagues or Spring Training. He has four hits in 98 career regular-season at-bats. Lester started his career 0-for-66 at the plate before tallying his first hit in July 2015, during his first season with the Cubs. He played his entire career in the American League until signing with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season. It took him until July of that season to collect his first hit, snapping an MLB-record 0-for-66 to start his career at the plate.
Jon Lester's two-run homer
“I texted him 'Nice homer.' That definitely made me chuckle night. That saying certainly still holds up for Lester, who helped the Nationals blow out the Marlins Monday night — with his arm and bat. “‘Never lost with 12 runs and air-tight defense,’” the Cubs manager recalled Tuesday.
He’s 10-for-17 with five homers, 11 RBI and eight runs scored in four games since returning from the All-Star break. Chicago Cubs’ Jon Lester hits a three-run home run during an eight-run second inning against the Minnesota Twins. MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs expect 10 strikeouts from Jon Lester but the lefty added his first professional home run in a 10-0 victory Wednesday over the Rockies' split squad. The 18 runs mark a season high for the Nationals, but it's not even close to the franchise record. Also of note in this game was Juan Soto clubbing a pair of homers. He didn't have quite the first half he wanted to have in terms of power and said he wanted to do the Home Run Derby to help get his power stroke back.
What stunning Correa signing means for Mets
July 25, 2011 Boston Red Sox activated LHP Jon Lester from the 15-day disabled list. August 18, 2017 Chicago Cubs placed LHP Jon Lester on the 10-day disabled list. "It just makes everybody better," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Soto. "It picks everybody up. And it stretches out our lineup tremendously. He’s swinging the bat well, and he’s hitting the ball all over the field very hard." The left-hander became the oldest pitcher to hit a home run since Bartolo Colon did it at the age of 42 when he was playing for the New York Mets against the San Diego Padres in May 2016, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. About Baseball Reference Batting Glossary, Pitching Glossary, Wins Above Replacement Explainer, WAR data archive, BR Data Coverage, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, ... MLB Standings AL Standings, NL Standings, Standings for any date in history, ... Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Ross then recalled another offensive highlight of Lester's career, when he delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off bunt against the Mariners in 2016.
Lester finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. He also struck out seven batters and allowed six hits in seven innings of work. In all seriousness, it’s these types of moments that make baseball fans go wild.
Not only did Lester get it done at the plate, he handled business on the mound too. The veteran lefty tossed seven innings of scoreless baseball, allowing six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in easily his best performance of the season. Rockies starter David Hale, who was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque last Friday, gave up three runs -- one earned -- on five hits and one walk over 2 2/3 innings. Mark Reynolds had two hits for the Rockies, raising his spring average to .341.
David Ross went 3-for-3 with three doubles and four RBIs, and Kyle Schwarber followed Lester's opposite-field blast with a shot of his own in the win. MLB Scores Yesterday's MLB Games, Scores from any date in Major League history, MLB Probable Pitchers, Baseball-Reference Stream Finder, ... " says, ‘Bunt to win,’ with his picture of him squeezing in the winning run," Ross said with a laugh. Lester’s home run extended Washington’s lead to 12-0, and they added six runs from there in an 18-1 win. So, Ross reached out to his good friend and former battery mate for an update on that old saying.
"He fell behind, and I was trying to hit a heater," Lester said of the at-bat against Hess. Washington Nationals veteran pitcher Jon Lester isn’t exactly a phenomenon at the plate like Shohei Ohtani, but he provided some power with that bat Monday night against the Miami Marlins. "I try not to read too much into Spring Training, whether it's good or bad," Lester said. "I would've liked to have gotten a couple more innings, but we had some long innings today and that's why they pulled me a little early. Ross doubled to lead off the fourth against Scott Oberg, and Lester then lined a 3-1 fastball to left, which opened a 5-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Nationals starter Jon Lester was completely dominating the Marlins' offense. He ended up giving up six hits in seven scoreless innings while striking out seven and not walking anyone. It was a vintage Jon Lester performance, with him painting the corners and keeping the ball down in the zone all night. Alcides Escobar led off with a single and then scored on a Trea Turner triple. Then Juan Soto and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers and it was 4-0 before the Marlins even recorded an out. The Nationals then got six runs the next inning and it was already a double-digit lead through two innings.
But he also came up big at the plate, crushing a two-run home run in the win over the Marlins. Usual suspects Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Josh Bell each added to their yearly totals. Rookie catcher Tres Barrera collected the first long ball of his career. Yet most surprisingly, pitcher Jon Lester got in on the fun with a 419-foot homer to straightaway center field as well. Five different Nationals left the yard in the first five innings of Washington’s series opener with the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
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