Beckett appears to be on schedule

Epstein: Ace has no health issues

Josh Beckett's outing Wednesday night ended 3 hours 15 minutes before the game did, so it was easy to overlook the significance and effectiveness of his second start since his return from the disabled list.

Only five days prior, Beckett tested the right arm on which a good portion of the Red Sox' postseason chances ride for the first time since Aug. 17. Both his results and the way he felt Wednesday indicate the inflammation that scared Beckett into receiving an MRI from Dr. James Andrews will not affect him as the regular season closes.

"Josh felt fine during and after the start," general manager Theo Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "No health issues."

Certainly, there were no performance issues. Beckett allowed one run on six hits, leaving after six innings with the score, 1-1. He struck out seven, including all six outs in the third and fourth innings. He pounded the strike zone with fastballs that ranged from 93-95 miles per hour, throwing 39 of his first 51 pitches for strikes.

"He did pretty good," catcher Jason Varitek said. "He was real solid and steady. He kept out of trouble."

Beckett lasted 84 pitches, part of the Red Sox' plan to ease him back from the DL. If the Sox make the playoffs, Beckett will not have the same limitations.

"Josh's pitch count will continue to increase," Epstein said. "He's close enough to being unrestricted now that we don't see this as a major issue going forward."

Beckett's health is of primary importance not only because of his stature as the Red Sox ace, but also because of what he is capable of at this time of year. His career ERA in September is 2.84, better by a full run than his second-best month. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings in the playoffs, Beckett is eighth all time with a 1.73 ERA. He also owns a 6-2 record in nine playoff starts and he has two World Series rings.

Beckett has remained true to that pattern. In his two starts since his injury, he has allowed one run and 10 hits and struck out 14 in 11 innings.

Getting to know you

Starting with the four-game series (including tomorrow's doubleheader) that begins tonight at Fenway Park, the Red Sox will play the Blue Jays seven times in the next 10 days, an unfortunate bit of scheduling given how hot Toronto has been. The Jays had their 10-game winning streak snapped with a loss to the White Sox Wednesday night.

While not completely out of it, at seven games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race, the Blue Jays are largely a playoff afterthought. Though the Jays haven't factored into a pennant race in years, the September surge is becoming something of an annual occurrence. Over the past three seasons, they have the second-best winning percentage (.625) in September, behind the Yankees.

As of last night, the Blue Jays still had not announced who would pitch the last three games of the series.

Similar intensity

The Sox still have three games remaining with Tampa Bay. After they played their three most meaningful games ever against the Rays, outfielder Coco Crisp gave this take on the burgeoning rivalry: "We have outstanding intensity - it's pretty much unmatchable - when we play the Yankees," he said. "But now you throw Tampa in the mix with how well they've been playing, it's almost, it's very similar to the type of intensity we share with the Yankees. It definitely makes our season more exciting. That makes it fun." . . . Epstein classified right fielder J.D. Drew as day to day after his back tightened up following a workout on the field Wednesday afternoon. The Sox activated Drew Monday. He has not played since Aug. 18 . . . Epstein said the Sox are "still in the planning stages" of setting Clay Buchholz's offseason program . . . Jacoby Ellsbury's double to lead off the 14th inning Wednesday snapped a 4-for-28 stretch . . . If you're curious: The all-time leader in playoff ERA is Yankees closer Mariano Rivera at 0.77 (10 earned runs in 117 1/3 innings). The highest among qualifying pitchers? Jaret Wright, at 7.07. Tim Wakefield is second worst at 6.36.