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They are who we thought they were by Jared Carrabis
Beckett, Red Sox bring KC back down to Earth

After making the Kansas City Royals look like a team gearing up for postseason play for the first two games of this series, Josh Beckett and the Red Sox finally peeled off their mask and exposed them for the 26-games under .500 team that they are.

Making his first start since making these comments, "Hopefully, if we keep on playing good baseball, maybe I can also get a little breather right there at the end, throw a couple of bullpens and work on some things I need to work on going into October," Beckett looked like a pitcher who needed no such "breather."

The right-hander took the mound, looking to reduce Boston's magic number, in order to inch his club one step closer to an October return. Beckett had pitched well in his last three starts, logging 20 innings and a 3.15 ERA, after posting a 5.08 ERA in the month of August.

With the exception of a shaky fourth, Beckett kept Kansas City off the scoreboard. Though the two earned runs that Beckett allowed through six innings may seem like a solid outing, the right-hander allowed a new season-high by spraying 12 hits.

After allowing two runs in the fourth, the Red Sox offense came to the rescue by putting up a six-spot in the top of the fifth. With one out, JD Drew knocked a base hit the other way into left field. After Alex Gonzalez dropped a base hit into shallow right, Jacoby Ellsbury brought both runners home to tie the score at two after drilling his tenth triple of the season.

The inning continued, as Dustin Pedroia lined a base hit into left to plate Ellsbury, moving the Red Sox ahead by a 3-2 score. After a base hit by Victor Martinez and a walk to Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay came to the plate and dropped a two-run single into left field on a blooper.

Boston would tack on one more run in the frame, after David Ortiz hammered a screaming line drive down the right field line to bring in Youkilis; 6-2, Red Sox.

Beckett went on to strike out seven batters in total, as a three-run bomb off the bat of Ortiz in the top of the ninth gave some insurance to lower Boston's magic number to five at the very least.

"It was nice," said Francona of Ortiz's blast. "The ball came off his bat good. He wasn't on his front foot and muscling it out of the ballpark. That ball was back-spinning. That was a pretty swing."

Terry Francona elected to go to Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning, as the Boston closer hadn't worked since last Friday. Papelbon turned in a perfect inning of work, including a swinging strikeout of Luis Hernandez on 97mph heat to conclude the contest.

Final Score: Red Sox 9, Royals 2

Thursday's pitching match-up:

Clay Buchholz gets the ball in Boston's attempt to split this four-game series on Thursday night. Buchholz has pitched his way to a 3-0 record in four starts for the month of September. In the 26 innings the right-hander has pitched this month, Buchholz has racked up 14 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.73. Buchholz has been virtually unhittable, as opponents are hitting just .202 against the 24-year-old for the month of September. His opponent, Anthony Lerew, hasn't seen major league action since May of 2007, a game in which Kevin Youkilis and Julio Lugo took him deep...'nuf ced.

Eye on the scoreboard:

Yankees 3, Angels 2
Rangers 9, Athletics 8

Result: The man who the Angels acquired to help the Halos get past the Red Sox and Yankees in October, Scott Kazmir, was on the losing end of a pitcher's duel in Anaheim. AJ Burnett led the Bombers to victory, as the Yankees prevented Boston from gaining any ground in the East. The Rangers out-slugged the A's, which halted the Red Sox from lowering their magic number to four. Instead, it sits at five.

-Jared Carrabis