No joke. Not to mention he's had to face two of the most potent offenses at the time in the AL in his first two games.
Runs per game as of the game in which Lackey faced them:
Rangers - 8.67 Runs per Game (during entire series vs Red Sox)
Yankees - 5.83 Runs per Game
A's - 3.63 runs per game, 3.71 runs per game at home.
Obviously it's no excuse for how Lackey threw, but maybe going up against an offense that is hitting .236/.300/.357 will give him the boost he needs to get back into the groove.
Not to mention Lester - Beckett - DiceK combined to throw 20 IP of 0.90 ERA baseball, hopefully that will give Lackey a little kick in the ass.
Finally, Lackey's next 4 starts are @OAK, @LAA, vs SEA, and vs LAA. Taking into account the location of the games, last year, Lackey went 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in those same situations.