Dodgers 2, Red Sox 1
FORT MYERS, Fla. --Josh Beckett is used to pitching in his new league. Hideki Okajima is starting to adjust.
Beckett pitched three shutout innings on Monday and Okajima added one scoreless inning for Boston before Los Angeles scored twice off relievers and the Dodgers beat the Red Sox 2-1.
Last season, Beckett's first with Boston after spending his entire major-league career with Florida in the National League, had a career-high 5.01 ERA and allowed 36 homers, more than doubling his previous high. He was 16-11 but not satisfied.
"It's a big difference" between the leagues, he said. "You definitely notice it and, if you think about it, not only is the pitcher in the lineup in the National League, but at least twice a game, you're probably going to get a free out from him because he's going to be bunting."
In the AL, Beckett must face a designated hitter, sometimes the best batter in the opposing lineup.
"It's definitely a different beast," he said.
In his first spring training outing last Thursday, Beckett struck out five batters in two scoreless innings in an 11-0 win over Northeastern University. On Monday, he allowed three hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
"I've still got some things to iron out but I threw some curveballs for strikes," he said. "I threw some good changeups. Productive day."
Okajima, signed as a free agent from Japan, allowed a leadoff single in the fourth to Olmedo Saenz then retired his other three batters.
Spring training in the United States is shorter than it is in Japan.
"I can really concentrate even more and I think it's actually working out better for me how we do it here," he said.
The Dodgers also got a solid pitching performance from Randy Wolf in his second start since leaving Philadelphia as a free agent. He struck out three and walked two in two hitless innings.
Chad Billingsley followed Wolf with two more scoreless innings and got the victory.
Boston didn't score until the eighth inning, breaking a string of 14 scoreless innings in two games Monday. Earlier, Jon Lester appeared in his first game since his last cancer treatment on Dec. 21. He threw one inning, as planned, in a "B" game against Minnesota.
Lester was diagnosed last August with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of cancer in the body's lymph system. Before his final treatment, tests showed he was free of cancer.
On Monday, he needed just eight pitches to retire the three batters he faced, throwing six for strikes. The nine-inning game ended in a scoreless tie. The Red Sox batted in just seven of those innings because the Twins ran out of pitchers.
"I was happy for him," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "The fact that we're talking about him pitching is exciting."
The Red Sox had five hits in each game.
In the second one, the Dodgers went ahead 2-0 on Juan Pierre's RBI single in the fifth off loser Brendan Donnelly and Olmedo Saenz's double in the sixth against Julian Tavarez followed by an error by second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
The Red Sox nearly tied it in the eighth against Joe Beimel. Brandon Moss and Alex Prieto singled with two outs. Luis Jimenez then doubled to right to score Moss, but Prieto was thrown out at home by Delwyn Young.
Notes:@Since coming to Boston, Beckett hasn't been bothered by blisters that plagued him in Florida. He said when his finger gets sore it's usually when he has eczema outbreaks. He's taking COQ 10, an antioxidant, for it. ... Wolf improved on his first outing last Thursday when he allowed one run on four hits in two innings of a 7-2 loss to Atlanta.
