Thank God Varitek was catching instead of Victor Martinez. Otherwise, Beckett might have had a bad start.
Josh Beckett's outing was one of the more bizarre I've seen from a starter in recent memory. It's rare that a guy goes 8 innings but also gives up 8 runs. It's really rare that Beckett (or anyone else) allows at least 1 run in each of the first 5 innings. In fact, it was the first time he's ever done it.
Apart from 7 to 10 atrocious pitches, Beckett wasn't too bad. But that's how good the Yankees' lineup is hitting these days. Anything less than perfection will turn into hard hits.
If the Red Sox don't have a Cy Young calibre Beckett to send out there every 5th day, they have little chance to win the Wild Card and if that somehow happens, they have NO chance to win a playoff series.
The division race is over. There are 39 games left, and a 7.5 game deficit isn't insurmountable, but I cannot fathom the Red Sox being able to trim 1 game off New York's divisional lead every time through the rotation.
The Red Sox now host the AL Central's 2nd place team, which is also the 6th place Wild Card team. The White Sox aren't as good as most 2nd place teams out there. They're only 2 over .500. The Red Sox are 7.5 games ahead of the White Sox in the Wild Card standings.
Jose Contreras vs. Clay Buchholz Monday night.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson
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