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Drew powers Beckett to his ninth straight win

Jun 9, 2007 - 7:17 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- J.D. Drew blasted two three-run home runs and Josh Beckett remained undefeated to give the Boston Red Sox a 10-3 victory in their first regular-season appearance in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

One night after Curt Schilling came within one out of a no-hitter against Oakland, Beckett (9-0) allowed five hits and three runs - two earned - over eight innings with no walks and eight strikeouts.

In the process, Beckett became the first Red Sox hurler to start a campaign 9-0 since Roger Clemens began 1986 with 14 wins. The righthander was 0-3 with an ERA of 6.75 in four previous starts against Arizona.

"I had good stuff, I didn't give up on my secondary pitches and threw everything for strikes," Beckett said. "As far as being 9-0, I am on a great team and these guys play great defense behind me. They score a lot of runs, give me an early cushion in a lot of these games. I can't take all the credit for being 9-0."

Drew's seven RBI is a career high and it was the 12th time in his career he has hit two home runs in a game. The last time was August 26, 2006 also against the Diamondbacks as a member of Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I feel better. I felt great yesterday and I wanted to be aggressive when the ball is in the zone," Drew said. "Everybody likes to hit in this ballpark but the big key was coming into the game I felt really good about yesterday's game and the way I swung the bat and wanted it to carry it over."

His first homer provided a quick 4-0 lead in the third against Arizona starter Doug Davis and his fourth blast in the sixth provided a 9-1 gap.

"It was fun to watch him (Drew) swing the bat tonight," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He was a lot of our offense tonight and we need that long term. He hit the ball to right, left, center that's the J.D we need."

Davis (4-7) lasted just four innings, yielding five runs and six hits after allowing just two runs over 15 2/3 innings in winning his previous two starts.

"I had a great plan to go after those guys but not being able to execute is frustrating," Davis said. "It was poor execution all night. Falling behind hitters and having to serve it up to them. They knew what was coming."

Boston's Julio Lugo opened the scoring in the first, when he smacked a 3-2 pitch off Davis 375-feet into the left field stands. It was Lugo's second leadoff home run of the season and the ninth of his career.

After Lugo led off the third with a walk, Manny Ramirez delivered a two-out single before Drew blasted the first pitch he saw from Davis 416 feet to left-center for his third home run of the season.

In the sixth inning, Diamondbacks reliever Edgar Gonzalez allowed four straight batters to reach base.

Rookie Dustin Pedroia singled to left and David Ortiz doubled to right. Pedroia stopped at third, but an errant throw by right fielder Eric Byrnes allowed Pedroia to score. Ramirez was hit on the wrist by a fastball from Gonzalez before Drew belted his second home run to right.

"With Beckett on the mound and you give him a lead like that it is not a real good recipe. He is a tough guy to come back on," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "Once it got going in that direction it was tough to stop but it is just one game."

The Diamondbacks lost their second straight game after winning 11 of their last 12

"We played like crap tonight," Diamondbacks first baseman Coner Jackson said. "We didn't have any offense, Beckett threw a great game but we have to come out and play better against a team like that. We have been hot but we need to come out tomorrow and show that we can play with those guys."