Good news Boston Red Sox fans. Josh Beckett is back....for one night anyway. The former ace looked like his former self as he mesmerized the New York Yankees for 8 outstanding innings. Beckett allowed just 2 hits and a walk in 8 innings, striking out 10 batters. The Red Sox bats only scored a single run off CC Sabathia but tagged Joba Chamberlain and Freddy Garcia for 3 big insurance runs. Mike Cameron drove in the run off Sabathia and Marco Scutaro got the big 2 run double off Chamberlain. The Sox ended up taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees with a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park.
Beckett got the ball in the top of the first inning and froze Brett Gardner for strike three to start. Derek Jeter grounded out to short and Mark Teixeira also took strike three to end the inning. Sabathia took the mound in the bottom of the first and Carl Crawford grounded out to short to start. Dustin Pedroia continued his hot streak with a base hit to center but Adrian Gonzalez flied out to center. Kevin Youkilis also lined a base hit to center but David Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning.
Beckett cruised in the top of the second inning as Robinson Cano flied out to right to start. Curtis Granderson grounded out to first and Nick Swisher went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox woes with RISP continued in the bottom of the second although Cameron led off with a pop up to first. JD Drew singled to right but Jason Varitek lined out to center. Marco Scutaro walked but Crawford flied out to center to end the inning. That's four men left on in just two innings.
Beckett was unfazed in the top of the third as Jorge Posada went down hacking to start. Eric Chavez singled to center and Russell Martin was plunked, but Gardner banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the third as Pedroia singled to center to start. Gonzalez singled to right and Youkilis walked to load the bases with nobody out. Then Ortiz not only banged into a double play, but Pedroia stayed at third for some inane reason. Yankee fans laughed at the Red Sox but those laughs turned to groans when Cameron came through with an infield hit to third to score Pedroia. Drew stuck out swinging to end the inning but the Sox led 1-0.
Beckett was unhittable in the top of the fifth as Posada watched strike three go by to start. Chavez grounded out to second and Martin grounded out to short to end the inning. Sabathia matched Beckett in the bottom of the fifth although Gonzalez was plunked to start. Youkilis took strike three but Ortiz singled to right. Cameron flied out to right and Drew took strike three to end the inning. That's 7 left on base in 5 innings, ugh.
Beckett cruised in the top of the sixth as Pedroia snuffed out a Gardner bunt attempt to start. Jeter grounded out to second and Teixeira struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth although Varitek watched strike three go by to start. Scutaro singled to right but was erased on the Crawford force. Pedroia hit a roller up the middle for a hit and Gonzalez walked to load the bases. That was it for Sabathia as Yankees manager Joe Girardi went with Joba Chamberlain to pitch to Youkilis. Youk grounded out to third to end the inning. That's TEN men left on base through six.
Its a good thing Beckett was dominant in the top of the seventh as Cano popped up to short to start. Granderson struck out swinging and Swisher grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox finally tagged Chamberlain in the bottom of the seventh as Ortiz walked to start. Cameron whiffed but Drew walked and Varitek singled to center to load the bases. Yankee fans laughed as they KNEW Chamberlain would get the big double play....but instead Scutaro doubled to the Monster to score Ortiz and Drew to ice the game. Boone Logan was brought in and Crawford grounded out to second. In an unthinkable move a week ago, Pedroia was intentionally walked to reload the bases to bring up Gonzalez. Gonzalez popped up to left to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 3-0.
Beckett returned for one final inning in the top of the eighth inning and Posada struck out swinging to start. Chavez grounded out to second and Martin lined out to right to end the inning. Beckett allowed just 2 hits and a walk while striking out ten guys in 8 innings.
The Sox added a run for good measure in the bottom of the eighth against Freddy Garcia. Youkilis walked and Ortiz broke out of his tiff with an rbi double to center to wrap up the scoring. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch ran for Ortiz and advanced to third on the sacrifice bunt by Cameron. Drew popped up to first and Varitek went down hacking but the Sox led 4-0.
Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon came in to close out the top of the ninth and Gardner took strike three to start. Jeter grounded out to second and Teixeira took strike three to end the game. The Yankees were held to 3 base runners and the Sox shut them out 4-0.
Hero of the Night is Josh Beckett. He tossed 8 innings of shutout ball allowing only 2 hits and a walk while striking out 10 to earn the win.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Adrian Gonzalez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
Kevin Youkilis was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Marco Scutaro was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 rbis.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Carl Crawford was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Mike Cameron was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in the first run.
JD Drew was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Honorable Mention:
Jacoby Ellsbury pinch ran for Ortiz in the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox needed to do some damage against the Yankees in this series and they did it. A sweep would have been perfect but taking 2 of 3 to climb out of the hole was good enough. The Sox offense wasn't much tonight but Beckett was outstanding. That's the Beckett from 07-09 that they need if they have any hope of contending this season. The offense will come around as the weather heats up but getting pitching like that from their starters is the key to the season. It was good to see the role players such as Cameron and Scutaro drive in the big runs when the others were getting on base all game. Once again, don't worry about the offense, it'll come. Beating the Yankees was just the first step but now they have to climb back to .500 next. The Sox now welcome the Tampa Bay Rays for a three game set. Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-1) goes for the Sox against Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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