SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Major League Rehabber to Face RiverDogs Opening Day

April 3, 2007 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


The Charleston RiverDogs will have the opportunity to face big-league-caliber pitching on opening night when the Greenville Drive come to town Thursday.

Jon Lester, who is slated to be the Drive's opening-day starter on April 5 in Charleston, enjoyed a successful rookie campaign with the Boston Red Sox in 2006 before having his season cut short when diagnosed with a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma in late August.

Lester was pronounced cancer-free in December after undergoing several chemotherapy treatments. The Tacoma, Wash., native has been making starts at the Red Sox spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. His last outing came on Aug. 23, 2006, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - a game in which he earned the win.

Lester, a 23-year-old left-handed pitcher, compiled a 7-2 record and a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts with Boston after his June 10 call-up from Class-AAA Pawtucket. Making just 15 starts, Lester was tied for fourth among American League rookies with seven wins, and he became the first Red Sox rookie to win seven starts since Aaron Sele in 1993.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said that Lester, regarded as one of Boston's top pitching prospects since his second-round draft selection in 2002, will be brought back up through the farm system gradually, making four starts with the Drive.

"We want to get him out of Florida - get him to a situation where it's a game type of situation with lights - but also at the same time in a situation where we can still monitor and before we completely take off the [reins] and let him go," Francona said. "I think he understands."

Lester will face RiverDogs opening-day starter Tim Norton when both teams open their seasons Thursday, April 5, at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. Norton, 23, went 3-3 with a 2.60 ERA for the short-season Staten Island Yankees in 2006. He overpowered batters to the tune of 83 strikeouts in 72.2 innings pitched.

*Portions of this story were taken from MILB.com and the Greenville Drive media relations department.

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