The Sox headed back to Boston with a 1-1 split in the suddenly even American League Championship Series with the Tampa Bay Rays, but serious questions are beginning to pop up around starter Josh Beckett.
The normally dominant 28-year-old pitcher watched his teammates smash three solo home runs in the top of the fifth to give him a one-run lead, but Beckett collapsed in the fifth and was yanked after just 4 1/3 innings. "It's very frustrating anytime you get eight runs for you and you can't win the game," Beckett said afterward.
The outing was the shortest in the playoffs in Beckett's career, and it would seem to be a big concern that he generated only three swings-and-misses among his 93 pitches. Beckett still racked up five strikeouts and seemed to have a good curveball, but his velocity was challenged throughout the start -- a phenomenon that has been the norm since he returned from the disabled list in September.
The evidence at hand -- plus the results from Beckett in his last two starts -- begs the question as to whether he is healthy at this crucial part of the postseason.
Over two starts this postseason, Beckett has yielded 12 earned runs and five home runs over 9 1/3 innings pitched, and his postseason ERA jumped from 2.07 to 2.85 after Saturday night's struggle.
"He made some mistakes and he paid for them," manager Terry Francona said. "He paid for all of them."
RAYS 9, RED SOX 8 (11 innings): RHP Josh Beckett was rocked for eight runs and nine hits and was forced out after only 4 1/3 innings pitched -- the shortest postseason outing of his glorious playoff career. 2B Dustin Pedroia registered the first two-homer game of his career in the loss, and 1B Kevin Youkilis and OF Jason Bay also went deep for the Sox. RHP Mike Timlin suffered the loss in the 11th after walking the bases loaded and then surrendering a sacrifice fly.
