Josh Beckett faced seven batters in the first inning. Â He took the mound with the Red Sox leading 3-0 and after giving up a single and a ground out, walked three batters consecutively. After walking in a run, he struck out Ryan Doumit and got Danny Valencia to ground out, saving what could have been a disastrous inning. Â Beckett left the mound barking to home plate umpire Adrian Johnson about how he had to get “five outs” in the inning. Â If there were any worries that last night’s game was going to turn into an epic meltdown by the offense and pitching, those worries were erased quickly.
Beckett pitched six innings giving up only five hits and two earned runs. Â He didn’t give up the home run ball and after walking three in the first inning didn’t walk another man all night. Â If started off ugly, but Beckett settled in and three out of the six innings he pitched were 1-2-3 innings.
The Red Sox offense seemed to feed off of their pitcher’s intensity. Â They went through four Minnesota pitchers, running their starter Nick Blackburn out of the game after the third inning and ended the night with 18 hits and 11 runs. Â Shortstop Mike Aviles, thrust into the role of leadoff hitter when Jacoby Ellsbury went on the disabled list, went 4-5 last night, including a home run and two doubles. Â David Ortiz continued his hot hitting with a home run that measured out at 429 feet.
Tonight at 8 p.m. the Red Sox have an opportunity to sweep only their second series of the season. Â Even without a sweep, this three-game series marks only the second time thus far (the first being against the Rays the second week in April) that the Sox have won a series.
Every team in the American League East, aside from the Red Sox, has a record of 10-7. Â With their win last night, the Sox stand at 6-10, putting them 3.5 games out of first place. Â Rocky starts are painful for the team and the fans but hardly indicative of how the season will play out.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)