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Red Sox Hope To See A Dominant Beckett

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By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: October 18, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - In previous postseasons with the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox, he pitched to a 1.73 ERA and held opponents to a .159 batting average and .209 on-base percentage - all three the best all-time among pitchers with at least 40 postseason innings.

That's the Josh Beckett the Rays hope they don't see as they try to claim a World Series berth tonight in Game 6 of the ALCS.

Beckett wasn't his surly and imposing self in Game 2 last Saturday, surrendering eight runs in 41/3 innings and allowing the Rays to overcome a dismal start by Scott Kazmir to pull out a 9-8 victory in 11 innings.

There's been a lot of discussion about whether - or how much - the 6-foot-5 right-hander is bothered by a strained oblique sustained late in the season and whether getting off-schedule in the rotation has taken him out of his rhythm.

The Red Sox keep insisting the injury is nothing more than a strain, and Beckett, in a one-word answer Friday, repeated his assertion that it's a non-factor.

Asked Friday whether he's had to make any adjustments to his pitching, he blankly said, "no."

And yet it was evident to anyone who watched Game 2 that Beckett was not the same pitcher who has thrown three complete-game postseason shutouts - tied for second-most all-time - and had pitched to an 0.92 ERA in his last five playoff starts entering this postseason.

Teammate Jason Bay notes that some of what occurred in Game 2 should be attributed to the Rays, who have pounded every starter Boston has sent out since Game 2. They hit three home runs off Beckett (Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Cliff Floyd). But Beckett didn't have his usual command.

Rays manager Joe Maddon noticed.

"Primarily, the only thing that stood out, maybe his velocity was down a bit," Maddon said Friday. "I still saw the tenacity. The delivery looked good. Breaking ball, etc., some good sink."

Catcher Jason Varitek took part for Game 2, citing pitch selection. The three home runs came on fastballs, according to MLB.com: 87 mph to Longoria, 91 mph to Upton and 93 mph to Upton.

Asked Friday what he might do differently this time, Varitek gave a look that said, "Do you really think I would tell you that?"

Beckett's battle with injuries in 2008 predates his strained oblique. He missed the start of the season with a lower back strain, and he was on the disabled list from Aug. 18 to Sept. 5 with shoulder inflammation. He also had nerve irritation in his right elbow.

While battling the shoulder issue, he was examined and received medical clearance from orthopedist James Andrews. A long pitching session on the side gave Beckett the peace of mind of knowing nothing was seriously wrong.

It's been suggested that such peace of mind might serve him well now.

"I think we can all understand, if it's in the back of your head, it can play with you a little bit," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, referring to Beckett's previous issues.

The Rays have to worry about not only Beckett's past postseason prowess, but his performances against them. He allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his last three regular-season starts against Tampa Bay and had a 1.29 ERA in those games.

Remarkably, the Rays won two of the games (one in 14 innings) because of stellar work by their own right-hander, Andy Sonnanstine, and late-inning offense.

Beckett's regular-season career mark against Tampa Bay is 5-3 with a 3.10 ERA. Obviously, he has never pitched against them in a do-or-die elimination game.

"He just needs to execute his pitches, starting with his fastball," Varitek said. "He needs to work his curveball, work his change-up and his cutter. If he locates the ball and moves it around the way he can, he'll be fine."

His manager expects Beckett to acquit himself well.

"He'll give everything he has," Francona said. "Regardless of the outcome of the game, nobody in our clubhouse will ever second-guess his effort, his will. We didn't see his best stuff last time, but ... we love this guy. He's one of the best competitors in the game.

"Whatever he can give us, we'll take. And hopefully it's good enough to win."

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994.

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