Beckett takes share of blame
Josh Beckett just wanted to set the tone.
After losing his two previous starts, Beckett wanted to be precise with his location, overwhelming with his velocity, and in command of all his pitches. And, through the first three innings last night against the Angels, the Red Sox righthander was all of those things and more.
"I thought early he was pretty good," said Sox manager Terry Francona, taking note of how Beckett held the Angels scoreless through three innings, allowing just one hit while ringing up five strikeouts. "Then he left balls out over the middle. One was a changeup, a couple of cutters, and they made him pay and they squared up some balls."
Over the next three innings, Beckett imploded. He gave up three runs on four hits in the fourth inning. After Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer into the Monster seats to help the Sox pull within 3-2 in the fifth, Beckett allowed the Angels to score three more runs on four hits in a wild five-run eruption in the sixth that blew the game open en route to a 9-2 loss.
Afterward, Beckett (9-8, 4.15 ERA), who was roughed up for eight runs (one unearned) on 11 hits, was at a loss to explain it.
"I don't know, they hit some balls," said Beckett, whose three-game skid matches the longest of his career, from July 5-Aug. 4, 2004. "I thought they hit some decent pitches, but I thought they hit some bad pitches, too. Don't get me wrong, I definitely was not perfect tonight.
"I just wanted to go out and set the tone, but I couldn't hold it there."
Worse yet, Beckett contributed to four errors by the Sox, which matched a season high, when he misfired on a sixth-inning pickoff throw to second base.
"I don't know that I can really blame my defense, because I know they're out there busting their [butts], trying to get to balls," Beckett said.
But he seemed more perturbed for the blunder he committed in the fourth inning when he failed to back up catcher Jason Varitek on a throw to the plate by right fielder J.D. Drew, who was later charged with an error that was originally assigned to Varitek.
Garret Anderson, who singled to right to score Vladimir Guerrero (single to center) and Torii Hunter (double to center) in the fourth, wound up advancing to second when Drew's throw got past Varitek.
"I was mad because I didn't back up the base," Beckett said. "I have to get back there. I think that's the first time I've ever done that in my career - A-ball all the way up [to the majors]. I've apologized to everybody I needed to apologize to."
In the sixth, Beckett was replaced by Manny Delcarmen. In holding himself accountable for his shortcomings, Beckett pointed to a common flaw - his failure to retire the leadoff batter.
"Things would've been looking a little bit different if I didn't give up the first three [runs], then the next three," Beckett said. "Both innings started with getting behind on the leadoff guy."
While Maicer Izturis's double to lead off the fourth stung, Beckett said the leadoff walk to Hunter in the sixth really peeved him.
"You're trying to get your guys back in there," Beckett said. "You just scored a couple of runs, but it just didn't work out that way. [Unfortunate] pitches, walking the leadoff guy. I guess there is one run that [peeves] me off more than any other run, that would be the leadoff walk in the sixth.
"They're a good team," Beckett said of the Angels. "We're a better team than we played, I'm a better pitcher than I pitched, we hit better than we hit today and yesterday. Sometimes, it's your day."
And sometimes, it's not.
