Game 88: Beckett caps first half with CG over Royals

by Randy Booth on Jul 12, 2009 10:27 PM EDT in Game Stories

Final - 7.12.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Boston Red Sox	1	0	0	3	1	0	0	1	X	6	10	0
WP: Josh Beckett (11 - 3) LP: Bruce Chen (0 - 4)

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That, my friends, is what we call a "gem."

Josh Beckett led the charge in the Red Sox's 6-0 win over the Royals Sunday by throwing a complete-game, three-hit shutout. It is Beckett's 11th win of the season, tied for the best in the AL with teammate Tim Wakefield.

Beckett walked none and fanned seven in the outing.

"Oh, he was good," Terry Francona said after the game. "He attacked the strike zone with his fastball and it was very obvious they wanted to hit his fastball."

Jason Varitek said he "struggled" during parts of the game, but the end result doesn't show that. Beckett put an exclamation mark on the end of the Red Sox's first half of the season and puts them in a great position -- alone atop the AL East -- heading into the second half.

Aaron Bates led the offense by going 3 for 4 with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Jason Bay pulled off a ridiculous game: he walked three times and was hit by two pitches. His final line was 0 for 0, but his OBP is loving him.

Dustin Pedroia (.303 on the year now), Kevin Youkilis (.298) and Rocco Baldelli (.282 -- not bad!) each had two hits on the game. Youk, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Baldelli each had an RBI. Nick Green also walked three times.

And now let's all exhale -- wooo. It's All-Star break time. Let's enjoy the festivities and hope for an even better second half by the Sox.

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Comments

Going in 3 games up, no less.

As much as we’d like to still be 5 games up, this looks damn nice as of 3 days ago, huh? Thanks to LA for once.

by Ben Buchanan on Jul 12, 2009 10:31 PM EDT reply actions

Not just for once

The L.A. Anonymous have been kicking the Yanks and rolling over to us when it counts since the start of the century. Good times.

"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.

by 0157H7 on Jul 12, 2009 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, yeah.

But usually it’s “no thanks” for killing us. =(

by Ben Buchanan on Jul 13, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

I missed the whole series

5 of the last 7 is great with all the struggles we had.

"Hey we got a lot in common here... I'm gonna rape you"

by MerryGoByeBye on Jul 12, 2009 11:24 PM EDT reply actions

Time to kick back and relax...

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bdalebs on Jul 12, 2009 11:30 PM EDT reply actions

I hear

Buccholz is starting the first game back….

by sydneysox on Jul 13, 2009 1:07 AM EDT reply actions

If someone had told us at the beginning of the season

That two members of the Sox rotation would be tied for the AL lead in wins headed into the All-Star Break, would anyone have guessed that we’d be talking about Beckett and Wakefield, instead of Beckett and Lester?

(Not that Lester is doing that shabbily himself, with 8 W’s to his credit, but Wakefield’s success has definitely been one of the pleasant surprises of 2009.)

by lone1c on Jul 13, 2009 7:30 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah

Here is a funny thing about Wakefield-every non-Sox fan is complaining about Wakes AS slot. However Wake really has been good. For example, no one is complaining about Mark Buehrle’s slot. You could say that Buehre has a lower ERA, but that is not much of a better argument than Wake has more wins. Buehre has a 4.56 FIP, Wake’s is 4.17. Wake has been better than people give him credit for.

On the other hand Jon Lester is an absolute beast. His FIP is 3.21. And he has only 20 fewer Ks than he did all of last year. Think about that-in nearly 100 less innings, he has only 20 fewer Ks! If Smoltz can show some consistancy and be consistantly decent, and Penny can repeat his first half, unless an injury strikes, the Sox have a crazy good rotation.

by Buzzy on Jul 13, 2009 8:38 AM EDT up reply actions

I still can’t believe that Wake has been so good this year. Even at his age I always felt that he could be better. He usually puts together some nice stretches every season, this year he’s managed to be pretty consistent. Lester and Beckett are back to the ace status we expected from them, Penny has been above and beyond what I expected from him and Smoltz is still getting in form I think.

We have our DH back, Lowrie is on the way, things are looking pretty good right now. *Knocks on wood"

"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.

by Rogue Nine on Jul 13, 2009 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions

For a back of the rotation guy, he's pretty good.

I think three things have helped: he’s healthier than he’s been in past years, his new battery mate’s handling of the knuckleball, and the run support. Kottaras has helped Wakefield get into a very comfortable rhythm and routine, and that probably helps his confidence and delivery a lot. The run support also helps a lot, because he can just focus on pitching well, instead of pitching perfectly.

by lone1c on Jul 13, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Wake's tRA is 0.39 runs lower than Buehrle's too.

And, while Wake’s pRAA (pitch Runs Above Average) is relatively low compared to other All Stars at 3.91, but Buehrle’s is barely above average at 0.34. So, yes, Wake is more deserving than Buehrle.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bdalebs on Jul 13, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I guess

Buehrle is in because there are no other White Sox, but still.

by Buzzy on Jul 13, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Others could've been voted in...

By WAR:
Konerko – 2.0
Ramirez – 1.8
Dye – 1.7
Pierzynski – 1.6
Thome – 1.4
None of those guys played a position that needed another player, I guess.

OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.

by bdalebs on Jul 13, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Lester IS a beast

And perhaps the most frightening thing for Sox opponents is that he probably still hasn’t reached his full potential yet. I suspect he still has the power to be a few degrees even more dominating than what he’s done so far.

by lone1c on Jul 13, 2009 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions