The Red Sox have to be happy to be done with interleague play since they have struggled more than we probably would have initially anticipated. All Star Josh Beckett took the mound this afternoon hoping to put his last rusty outing behind him and get a win in front of his hometown.
That is exactly what Josh Beckett did. His performance was nothing short of outstanding. He gave up a couple of hits in the first inning and after that he seemed to go into Beckett Beast Mode. He gave up a run on a leadoff double and a hit in the 5th, but that would be it. He was also a strike throwing machine. Beckett left the game having K’ed ELEVEN batters. Good lord, he was impressive. Beckett’s pitching line was 102 pitches, 8 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 Ks.
Photo Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images
Beckett left the game with the score tied 1-1. The Red Sox scored their only run in the 4th inning on a throwing error to the plate. Kevin Youkilis was safe, even if he got his foot stomped on in the process. The Red Sox had numerous instances where they had opportunities to score, but they couldn’t get anyone to cross the plate. That changed in the 9th inning. The Sox had 2 outs and 2 men on base. The Astros decided to IBB Gonzalez and take their chances with Kevin Youkilis. Unfortunately for them, the Astros pitcher then walked Youk to bring in the winning run. That’ll teach you to intentionally walk a batter!
A bonus was that Beckett was still the pitcher of record, so now he was in line for a win. Papelbon came out for the save. He K’ed Lee and Downs, gave up a bloop hit to Wallace and then K’ed Ron Johnson’s kid for the win!
Nice SWEEP…and now the Sox head back to Boston and AL play!
Red Sox 2 Astros 1 BOXSCORE
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