Jon Lester vs. the Mariners

The last time Jon Lester faced the Mariners in mid-May, he was hammered for five runs and two homers in 5.2 innings. He took the loss, dropping his record to 2-4 with a 6.51 ERA. He vowed to work harder than any other pitcher until he found the map to success that day. The result: in eight subsequent starts, he is 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 52.1 innings.

Ichiro Suzuki – .357/.357/.786 (2 HR 3 RBI, 1 SO)
Mike Sweeney – .250/.357/.250 (0 HR 1 RBI, 2 SO)
Franklin Gutierrez – .100/.100/.100 (0 HR 2 RBI, 6 SO)
Kenji Johjima – .375/.444/.375 (0 HR 0 RBI, 0 SO)
Josh Wilson – .000/.111/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 2 SO)
Jose Lopez – .143/.250/.143 (0 HR 0 RBI, 0 SO)
Wladimir Balentien – (3) .333/.333/.667 (0 HR 0 RBI, 0 SO)
Russell Branyan – (3) .667/.667/1.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)
Ken Griffey Jr. – (3) .000/.000/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 0 SO)
Chris Woodward – (2) .000/.000/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 2 SO)

Brandon Morrow vs. the Red Sox

Random detail about Brandon Morrow as he prepares to make his fifth start of the season: prior to the 2006 draft, the Mariners told Daniel Bard that they were considering taking him (back in his days as a starter at UNC) with the sixth overall pick of the draft. Instead, they went with Morrow, whose power arsenal suggested a guy who could reach the big leagues quickly as a reliever. Morrow is now being converted to starting duty (he’s making his fifth start of the year), while Bard is enjoying a successful first taste of the bigs as a reliever.

J.D. Drew – (5 career plate appearances against Morrow) .000/.600/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)
Jason Varitek – (5) .200/.200/.400 (0 HR 1 RBI, 2 SO)
Dustin Pedroia – (4) .250/.250/.250 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)
Julio Lugo – (3) .333/.333/.667 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)
Kevin Youkilis – (3) .000/.333/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)
Jacoby Ellsbury – (2) .000/.000/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 0 SO)
Mark Kotsay – (1) .000/.000/.000 (0 HR 0 RBI, 1 SO)