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Beckett Won't Blame Injury for Rare Poor Performance

Posted on: Monday, 6 October 2008, 08:15 CDT

Beckett Won't Blame Injury for Rare Poor Performance

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox's 11-game postseason winning streak against the Los Angeles Angels is over, and so is starting pitcher Josh Beckett's run of playoff dominance.

Beckett, pitching for the first time since suffering a side injury the last week of the regular season, allowed 13 baserunners in five innings of work as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Red Sox 5-4 in 12 innings Sunday night.

Beckett gave up two towering home runs to Angels catcher Mike Napoli, and the offensively challenged club peppered Beckett throughout his outing, a marked contrast to the pitcher who went 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA last postseason.

But Beckett refused to blame his injury for his subpar outing.

"I feel fine," Beckett said. "The oblique was fine. I wasn't concerned about it at all."

Beckett was making his first start since Sept.22.

He was supposed to pitch Game1 in Anaheim, Calif., but he was still feeling the effects of a strained side from the last week of the regular season. So, the Red Sox gave him a few more days of rest and held him until Game3.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said that the Angels' lineup made Beckett and the rest of his staff work hard.

"Right from the very first pitch of the game, he was out of the stretch," Francona said. "Again, it has been a couple of weeks. I don't think his command was what it can be, what it will be.

"It seemed like our whole staff, we were pitching out of the stretch every single inning. We dodged a lot of bullets and couldn't win in the end. But, as far as Josh went, he looked healthy."

The five-inning start was the shortest of his postseason career, and the nine hits were the most he's ever given up in a postseason game.

"Some of the pitches I threw just missed," Beckett said. "There were 1-1 pitches that were 2-1 instead of 1-2. That's the way it goes."

Asked if it was frustrating to lose a game that could have allowed the Red Sox to advance to the American League Championship Series, Beckett said: "It's always frustrating to lose a game."

Beckett said he was comfortable on the mound: "Rust? No. There wasn't any rust."

Results-wise, Beckett had troubles from the start.

He gave up a double on the first pitch of the game to Chone Figgins and used 30 pitches to get through the first half inning. The Angels left the bases loaded against Beckett in the first and fourth innings.

Beckett's short outing means the Boston bullpen worked seven innings, putting more pressure on tonight's Game4 starter, Jon Lester.

"For both sides, starting pitching will be at a premium," Francona said.

(c) Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Image Courtesy Wikipedia

Source: USA TODAY

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