he threw two pitches... both of them way off the mark. i would think that the advantage of betting against a starting pitcher first day back would be that he hasn't really gotten his stuff going yet. he might not have his curveball as sharp as he wants it to be or his fastball to the velocity that he wants it to be at. he might not have his control down yet completely.
i dont think lackey got a chance to do any of that in two pitches at the major league level.
Also, Redding who is not even close to being as good a pitcher as a healthy Lackey. Lackey may not be "right" but I think Redding won't last as long as Lackey tonight as he has to face a more potent offense in Lad than the Mariners.
The other thing to consider on first starts off the DL is that most pitchers will be held to a short and strict pitch count. They'd better have a solid BP backing them up.