Oct 11, 2008 - 6:09 AM
2 shoutsAmerican League Championship Series Boston leads 1-0
Boston at Tampa Bay 8:07 pm. EDT
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Josh Beckett has been clutch in the postseason, and the Boston Red Sox are hoping two days of extra rest helps him conjure up some more October magic.
Beckett takes the hill for just the second time in 19 days on Saturday when the Red Sox aim to take a two-games-to-none lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Two of the American League Championship Series.
Beckett (0-0, 7.20 ERA) has been one of the best postseason pitchers in recent history, going 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA in 10 starts and 11 overall appearances this decade. However, he did not start Game One of the ALDS vs. Anaheim due to a strained oblique, and was ineffective in Game Three.
He was ripped for four runs and nine hits in five innings of a 7-5, 12-inning loss on October 5.
As a result, Boston chose to start Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game One on Friday, giving Beckett more time to rest the injury. It turned out to be a smart move as the Japanese righthander carried a no-hitter into the seventh as the Red Sox took the opener, 2-0.
Now, Boston has a chance to take command of the series behind its ace.
"He's fine physically," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "The farther he's removed from his problems of last week, he can concentrate on his routine and concentrate on pitching instead of trying to get better. If you don't physically have the stuff to do it, you're probably kind of running upstream a little bit."
Beckett said the time off has been beneficial.
"I definitely think the last five days have kind of gotten a little more normal as far as being able to do everything that I generally do," he said.
If Beckett is healthy, it's bad news for the Rays, who failed to take advantage of several scoring chances in Game One. The Rays had the bases loaded in the first, and put two runners on with no one out in the seventh and eighth innings.
"Listen, it happens," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "When you're facing very good pitching at this time of the year, they can stifle you even with nobody out. We can do the same thing to them."
Scott Kazmir (1-0, 3.38) hopes to help the Rays even the series before it heads to Boston on Monday. The lefthander labored through 5 1/3 innings, but picked up the win in his postseason debut on October 3. The Rays' longest tenured pitcher allowed two runs and eight hits in a 6-2 victory over Chicago.
Kazmir went 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in four starts against Boston this season.
"The main thing for me is keep the first guy off every inning, off the base path," Kazmir said.
"I think getting that first out is always big for any team, but especially this team, because if you make one little mistake, you walk one here, you walk one there, those guys are going to find a way to get around the bases and score."
From the Bleachers
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BOSTON: 8
TAMPA BAY: 9
Final/11
Oct 12 1:36 AM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY B.J. UPTON SCORED FERNANDO PEREZ.
FINAL SCORE: TAMPA BAY 9, BOSTON 8
Oct 12 1:36 AM -
-
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
WILD PITCH BY DAN WHEELER ALLOWED DUSTIN PEDROIA TO
SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 8
TAMPA BAY 8 TOP, 8TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J BAY (.571, 3-FOR-4, HR, 4 RBI)
Oct 11 11:52 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JASON BAY SCORED DUSTIN PEDROIA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J BAY ON FIRST, K YOUKILIS ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 7
TAMPA BAY 8 TOP, 6TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J LOWRIE (.000, 0-FOR-1, 2 BB)
Oct 11 11:03 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CARL CRAWFORD SCORED EVAN LONGORIA.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, C CRAWFORD ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 6
TAMPA BAY 8 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C FLOYD (.333, 1-FOR-2, HR, RBI)
Oct 11 10:38 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY EVAN LONGORIA SCORED CARLOS PENA.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, E LONGORIA ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 6
TAMPA BAY 7 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C CRAWFORD (.400, 1-FOR-2, RBI)
Oct 11 10:35 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CARLOS PENA SCORED B.J. UPTON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C PENA ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 6
TAMPA BAY 6 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: E LONGORIA (.333, 2-FOR-2, HR, 2 RBI)
Oct 11 10:31 PM -
-
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JASON BAY (1) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN THE
5TH OFF GRANT BALFOUR.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 6, TAMPA BAY 5
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J LOWRIE (.000, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Oct 11 10:02 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY KEVIN YOUKILIS (1) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF SCOTT KAZMIR.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 5
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J BAY (.400, 1-FOR-2, 2 RBI)
Oct 11 9:57 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY DUSTIN PEDROIA (2) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF SCOTT KAZMIR.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 4, TAMPA BAY 5
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.000, 0-FOR-0, 2 BB)
Oct 11 9:53 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY CLIFF FLOYD (1) TO CENTER WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 4TH OFF JOSH BECKETT.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 5
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: D NAVARRO (.200, 1-FOR-1)
Oct 11 9:41 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CARL CRAWFORD SCORED EVAN LONGORIA.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, C CRAWFORD ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 3
TAMPA BAY 4 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C FLOYD (.200, 0-FOR-1)
Oct 11 9:25 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY B.J. UPTON (1) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN THE
3RD OFF JOSH BECKETT.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 3
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C PENA (.333, 1-FOR-1)
Oct 11 9:20 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY DUSTIN PEDROIA (1) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 3RD OFF SCOTT KAZMIR.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 2
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.000, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Oct 11 9:07 PM -
AL
AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY EVAN LONGORIA (1) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF JOSH BECKETT SCORED CARLOS PENA.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2, TAMPA BAY 2
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C CRAWFORD (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
Oct 11 8:37 PM -
AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 2 2 2 0
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - JOSH BECKETT
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A
Oct 11 8:25 PM
