Remember me? by Jared Carrabis
Josh Beckett refreshes Red Sox fans’ memories


Having been out of action since May 18, the number-two overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft made his return to the mound.

A well-rested Josh Beckett toed the rubber in the second game of a four-game set against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. At first, the right-hander appeared to be a tad bit rusty, as Ichiro Suzuki reached first on an infield single in the bottom of the first. After the twenty-third stolen base of the year by Suzuki, the Japanese-born right fielder came home with Seattle’s first run on an RBI ground-rule double off the bat of Jose Lopez.

After the 25-pitch first inning for Beckett, the right-hander was locked in, as he did not allow a run for the remainder of his outing.

In the top of the fourth with two outs, Kevin Youkilis knocked a base hit into left field to keep the inning alive. The next batter, Adrian Beltre, cranked an RBI double out towards the gap in left-center to tie the game at one.

The double for Beltre was his team-leading 28th two-bagger of the year, as he drove in his 62nd run, which is also a team-best mark.

Beckett pitched his way into the sixth inning, but after a two-out walk to Michael Saunders, Terry Francona removed his starter from the game in favor of Scott Atchison.

At the end of the night, Beckett had logged five and-two-thirds innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits, while walking three and striking out five.

With the game still locked in a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh, Bill Hall stepped to the plate to lead-off the frame. Hall got a first-pitch curveball at the bottom of the strike zone from Seattle starter Jason Vargas and belted it to deep left field. When it came down, the Red Sox had a 2-1 lead.

The one-run lead was protected by both Atchison and Daniel Bard, as Jonathan Papelbon came on for the bottom of the ninth. After recording the first two outs in order, Papelbon allowed a two-out double to Jack Wilson to put the tying run in scoring position.

With first base open, the Red Sox opted to walk Ichiro intentionally, putting the winning run aboard.

Just like the manager drew up, Papelbon buckled down and struck out Josh Wilson swinging on six pitches to record the final out of the ballgame.



Final score: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1
WP: Scott Atchison (2-1)
LP: Jason Vargas (6-5)
SV: Jonathan Papelbon (22)
HR: Bill Hall (10)

Game notes: Bill Hall’s tenth homer of the season on Friday night marked the first time that the right-handed batter has reached the ten-home run plateau since 2008. His ten homers this season give him more round-trippers than Derek Jeter, Victor Martinez and Manny Ramirez, to name a few. With the win over Seattle, the Red Sox move one game over .500 in one-run games this season (17-16).

Eye on the scoreboard: The team that never loses won again in convincing fashion, as the Yankees rolled over the Royals, 7-1. Out in Cleveland, Fausto Carmona got the best of Jeff Niemann and the Rays in a 3-1 victory. The Tampa Bay loss knocks them four back of the Yankees, as the Red Sox creep within three games of the Rays and remain seven games behind New York.

Tweet of the Night: @IanMBrowne: Bill Hall hit two home runs during his 34-game stint with the Mariners. He has two against them the last two days.

-Jared Carrabis

Published on July 24, 2010

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