Big Bad Beckett by Jared Carrabis
Josh Beckett picks up AL-best, 10th win


Tonight, 42-year-old Tim Wakefield welcomed Boston ace, Josh Beckett, into the 10-wins club.

"Huge," said Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay. "They couldn't be two more different guys. Wake has been our most consistent guy the whole time, and Beckett, other than the first few starts he struggled, he's been one of those ace shutdown guys. There aren't too many in the league and he's one of them when he's on -- and he's on."

Just 24 hours after Nomar Garciaparra re-entered the hearts of Boston fans far and wide, it almost went under the radar that the Sox had a complete game shutout thrown against them and needed to get back to their winning ways. Enter: Josh Beckett. In Beckett's last 12 starts, the right-hander has a record of 8-1 and his team is 10-2 in the last twelve games that Beckett stood on the mound.

"Josh, he's been our bulldog," said Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. "When he's healthy, he can really do a lot with the baseball."

Entering Tuesday night's middle game between the Sox and A's, Beckett was 4-0 at Fenway Park, holding opponents to a minuscule .205 batting average.

"I love pitching here," Beckett said. "It doesn't have a whole lot to do with the dimensions of the park. I like pitching in front of our fans. It's definitely a different feeling than when I came from Florida, obviously. So it's awesome to pitch in front of a full house every night."

Before the Sox could even put a bat in their hands, they were already trailing by a run after Scott Hairston ripped a 96 MPH fastball over the wall in left for a two-out solo shot.

"Hairston tomahawked one that's probably still going," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

In the bottom of the second, the Red Sox would retaliate in the form of Jason Bay. Bay, who hadn't homered since June 23 against the Washington Nationals, cranked home run number twenty on the season and his first as an American citizen to tie the game up at one.

"Today was probably the most comfortable I've felt in a while. The last two weeks, it's just one of those things where you're a little uncomfortable and you're not seeing the ball and you're swinging at pitches I normally don't, and today I kind of felt like I slowed down a little bit again."

Later in the inning, the Sox would load up the bases on a double by Ortiz, a single by Jason Varitek and a five-pitch walk to Jacoby Ellsbury. Oakland starter Dana Eveland faced a bases loaded, no outs, situation and got Nick Green to ground into a double play. But sneaking in through the back door was Ortiz to put the Sox out in front, 2-1. No RBI for Green for those of you scoring at home.

The very next inning, the Boston bats were back at it. JD Drew led off the frame with his sixteenth double of the season to put a man in scoring position. Dustin Pedroia, who returned to the lineup after a day off on Monday, took a free pass to first base to put two men on. Later in the inning with two outs and the bases loaded after a David Ortiz walk, Jason Varitek hit a chopper back up the middle and into center field that plated two runs for Boston, upping their lead to 4-1.

In the top of the fifth, Oakland closed the gap after a pair of doubles to get the A's within two runs. Reigning American League MVP, Dustin Pedroia, ripped a base hit into left field in the bottom of the sixth inning that brought Jacoby Ellsbury around to score Boston's fifth run.

The three-run cushion would be more than enough for Beckett, who pitched into the seventh inning, before departing with two outs. The right-hander fired 107 pitches and gave up two earned runs on six hits. His four strikeouts were the second fewest he's racked up so far this season, but his command was on par to secure the win.

"I think he's one of the best," Francona spoke of Beckett. "He's fearless. Our guys look up to him. I think he enjoys that responsibility."

Hideki Okajima (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER) and Justin Masterson (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K) helped build the bridge to Jonathan Papelbon, who hasn't been called upon since appearing in Boston's frustrating 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. 15 pitches was all the Sox' closer needed, as he struck out the side to pick up save number 21, moving Boston into the half-century mark for wins in 2009.

Things you'll need to know to impress your friends:

With their win on Tuesday night, the Red Sox became the first team in the American League to reach 50 wins this season.

The Red Sox are now officially in the second half of the 2009 season. After completing their 82nd game of 2009 in a winning fashion, the Red Sox have an AL-best 50-33 record. Through 82 games in 2008, the Red Sox had a record of 50-32; talk about consistency. The only difference in 2009 is that in '08, the Sox held a half-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays after 82 games. Here in 2009, the Sox are clinging to a one-game lead over the New York Yankees who won big on Tuesday, 10-2.

Josh Beckett was 5-0 when pitching the day after a Red Sox loss entering Tuesday night's game. With his tenth win of the season to move into a tie for first place in the American League in wins, six of Beckett's ten wins have come the day after a Red Sox loss. The guy's clutch. Still not convinced? In seven of his last nine starts, the right-hander has allowed just two runs or less. That, my friend, is what you call dealing.

Even after having a sluggish June in which Jason Bay batted just .230, the outfielder's 20th home run of 2009 boosted his RBI total to a league-leading 71 runs knocked in.

Wednesday's pitching match-up:

In the rubber game of this series, the Sox will send their other ten-game winner to the mound. Tim Wakefield will continue to extend his Red Sox record for most starts in the history of the team, all while looking for win number eleven before the All Star break. In arguably Wake's best start of this season, the knuckleballer tossed a complete game, four-hit victory against the A's in Oakland. Trevor Cahill will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career. In his last two starts, Cahill has lasted 3.2 innings in both outings, allowing 12 earned runs in both starts combined.

-Jared Carrabis

Final Score: Athletics: 2, Red Sox 5

Editor's note: If you didn't read Monday's piece on Nomar Garciaparra, it's a must read for any true fan of Nomah.

Welcome Home, Nomar: The legend of Nomar Garciaparra through the eyes of a fan

Published on July 08, 2009

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