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Beckett To Lead Red Sox Rotation Into Playoffs

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The Associated Press

Published: October 2, 2007

Updated: 10/02/2007 01:00 am

BOSTON - Daisuke Matsuzaka will follow Josh Beckett in Boston's postseason rotation against the Angels, leaving Curt Schilling for Game 3 when the series shifts to Anaheim.

The Red Sox decided to have Schilling pitch Sunday instead of Friday to give him two extra days of rest. If Boston's first-round series goes the full five games, Schilling would be in line to pitch the opener of the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees or Cleveland.

'We're trying to gear up for 2 1/2 or 3 weeks of starts,' Manager Terry Francona said Monday.

Schilling last pitched Sept. 25, when he allowed one run in six innings of a 7-3 victory against Oakland. Francona isn't worried that Schilling will be rusty.

'I really don't have any qualms about it or I wouldn't have done it,' Francona said.

With an off day between Games 1 and 2, another between Games 2 and 3, and a third between Games 4 and 5, Boston can use a three-man rotation in the first round. That means knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (17-12) will begin the series in the bullpen.

'He understands,' Francona said.

Mets Reliever Linked To Steroid Shipments

NEW YORK - Relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis received six shipments of steroids in 2003 and 2004 from the Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegal distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, ESPN.com reported Monday.

Schoeneweis, then with the Chicago White Sox and now with the New York Mets, was prescribed the steroids by Ramon Scruggs of the New Hope Health Center in Tustin, Calif., the Web site said. Scruggs also wrote prescriptions for Toronto third baseman Troy Glaus.

The name of Schoeneweis, a survivor of testicular cancer, appears on packages sent to Comiskey Park in 2003 and 2004 by Signature Pharmacy, ESPN.com said, citing a source in Florida close to the investigation. Schoeneweis spent $1,160 and received testosterone and stanozolol, it said.

Scott Boras, Schoeneweis' agent, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

YANKEES: Hideki Matsui likely will be a designated hitter when New York opens the playoffs Thursday at Cleveland.

Matsui hit just .185 in September with two homers and 12 RBIs and had fluid drained from his right knee Sunday in New York.

Yankees manager Joe Torre said Monday that Johnny Damon could start in left field and that he also was thinking about using rookie Shelley Duncan, a right-handed hitter, against C.C. Sabathia in Game 1.

Elsewhere, Roger Clemens threw 49 pitches off a bullpen mound Monday at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, took 25 grounders and did some light running.

The Rocket, coming back from a hamstring injury, could throw a simulated game today. For now, he is on track to pitch Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

ASTROS: Houston closer Brad Lidge had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee Monday.

The Astros said the 30-year-old reliever should be ready for the start of spring training in mid-February.

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