How Lowe can he go?

That’s the question being asked by Red Sox Nation following the recent free-fall from starter Derek Lowe. We thought he had bottomed out after failing to survive the fifth inning in three consecutive starts from May 4 to May 15.

As we know now, he hadn’t.

On Thursday night, Lowe imploded in 2 1/3 innings of work against the worst team (and weakest-hitting team) in baseball. He was mercifully pulled from the third inning in Tampa Bay after giving up seven straight hits and six runs against the anemic Devil Rays.

Lowe had been having trouble finding the strike zone, posting an uncharacteristically high number of walks in his first eight starts. On Thursday, everything he threw was in the strike zone, sitting nice and pretty for the Rays hitters to whack. Hard to remember that this is the same guy who won 21 games two seasons ago.

In fact, the only American League pitcher with more wins than Lowe since the start of the 2002 season is defending Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. Lowe had 41 wins in that stretch of two-plus seasons, including 17 wins a year ago.

That’s why Lowe (and agent Scott Boras) expected to cash in after this season. Part of the heralded Gang of Four free agents-to-be, Lowe thought he was in line for elite money, the kind of mega-contract that goes to a number one starter.

Instead, he may find himself victim to the ultimate market correction. Reports say Lowe turned down some $9 million a year from the Sox. He’ll be lucky to see two-thirds of that if this keeps up.

Of course, Memorial Day’s still a week away, and Lowe has time to turn this around. Last year he went 5-0 in June and was 14-4 (with a 3.97 ERA) after May 11. He controls his own destiny, and a finish like 2003 will help him get closer to the financial security he seeks.

Back here in New England, no one was talking about that Thursday night. They were talking about his complete collapse in Tampa Bay — an eerily similar performance to his April 18 performance against the Yankees. In each game he failed to pitch three full innings, gave up seven runs on eight hits, and couldn’t get an out to save his life.

Now he’s got to save his season.

A season that seems to be sinking a lot quicker than Lowe’s pitches.

Lewiston native Tom Caron covers the Red Sox for NESN.

Copy the Story Link