Josh Beckett vs. Cliff Lee. Don’t tell me you weren’t sweating this a tad. The Sox were coming in to this game hoping for a win to be able to take the series from the Phils. Happily, Josh Beckett continued the trend of pitching well and the Sox bats got all over Cliff Lee early in the game.
Beckett looked good early and ended up pitching into the 8th inning. It was just what we needed to see from him. Beckett cruised right along with most of the hits he gave up not making it out of the infield. In fact, the first extra bases hit he gave up was a double to Cliff Lee. Beckett kept pitching scoreless inning after scoreless inning. He also was “this close” to hitting another HR in the 7th inning, however it ended up just being a long single. Beckett took the mound in the 8th and looked like he was tiring a wee bit. Beckett gave up a double and a single with one out. The Phillies were able to score their only run with a sac fly from Pierre. Beckett walked Victorino and that would be it for him. Beckett was out of the game and Padilla was in. Beckett’s line for the night was 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. The talk of trading Beckett is suddenly very silent. He looks like the pitcher that the team needs to have on the mound, wearing a Sox uniform. Padilla walked Pence to load the bases and suddenly the game started to feel a little tight. Thankfully, Padilla got Wigginton to ground out for the 3rd out. Aceves came out in the 9th even though it was not a save situation. He had a quick 1-2-3 inning and another win was in the books.
As for the offense, the Sox got on the board quickly thanks to Mike Aviles. Aviles once again hit a leadoff HR in the 1st inning. Sox 1-0. Mike Aviles got the 2nd RBI of the game in the 2nd inning with a single to score Byrd. Sox 2-0. In the 3rd, the Sox broke the game open especially with Cliff Lee on the mound. Gonzo singled and then Middlebrooks doubled. Salty then crushed a ball for a HR to bring them both home. Sox 5-0. Salty has just been on fire lately. After that, Lee really settled down, but the damage was already done.
Photo Credit: Rich Schultz/Getty Images
In addition to the great pitching and awesome bats…David Ortiz also played a mighty fine first base. He didn’t look like a liability at 1st at all. He made a great stabbing catch of a line drive. He also snagged a ball that looked like it was heading down the 1st base line. All in all, he was flashing some mighty fine leather at 1B. At one point, NESN showed Adrian Gonzalez giving Ortiz props from the outfield after a great defensive play. Beckett also made the point of waiting for Papi and giving him props on the way into the dugout. Lookin’ good Papi!
Red Sox 5 Phillies 1 BOXSCORE
WP: Beckett (4-4) LP: Lee (0-2)
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