Beckett on target to start Game 3 Sunday

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It lasted just 65 pitches (according to John Farrell) or 67 (according to Terry Francona), but Josh Beckett's bullpen session yesterday seemed to cause a sigh of relief for the Red Sox and perhaps yet another bit of frustration for the Angels. It was, as Francona said, "an aggressive side" session, providing the evidence the team needed that Beckett can start Game 3 of the American League Division Series Sunday.

"No limitations," Farrell said. "Really, the extension that he was able to get with his fastball, the down-and-away area to a righthanded hitter, which is always going to indicate the furthest extension from the throwing arm [was good]. There was no discomfort in the oblique. So provided that there's no concerns coming out of his exam, or a follow-up exam tomorrow, he should be on line for Sunday.

"I will tell you from the look in his bullpen today, he looks ready to go for Sunday."

Beckett threw all his pitches - fastball, curveball, changeup - with the normal intensity he uses in side sessions. This was his first since he injured his right oblique last Friday, forcing the Sox to scratch him from Game 1.

"He needs to know going into a start that he has what is available, what he needs to win, so today was a very productive day," Francona said. "Now again, we'll monitor him as we go, but the medical people were out there and I think we were very pleased with the way things went."

Farrell said Beckett made the correct decision to shut down for a short period after tweaking the oblique. That way, the injury didn't get worse, and Beckett should be available nine days after experiencing the problem on the 45th pitch of his side session.

"I think more than anything, you see his confidence in the facial expression when he was throwing that there was nothing there to withhold any kind of effort or force," Farrell said. "In the first 18 or 20 pitches, he was going through it in a controlled fashion, but once he got good and loose, his last 45 pitches were normal intensity, so he didn't hold anything back here today."

Beckett declined to speak with reporters.

Lowell a scratch?

While Francona said Mike Lowell came through Game 1 as well as could have been hoped, there were indications that the third baseman might not play tonight. Lowell was in obvious pain Wednesday during the Sox' 4-1 victory. So despite his contention that days off won't help his injured hip, there seemed to be a difficult decision facing the Sox and Francona.

"We may have to make changes as we go in this series," Francona said. "I spent a lot of time talking to Mike this morning. It's not just like a nagging hamstring he's dealing with, so again, I'll continue to think. I really don't know quite what we're going to do [today]. It's actually a very difficult decision for me. You've got the guy that's the ultimate gamer, will go out there every day.

"We're coming back in two days, going back to Fenway, facing a lefty [Joe Saunders]. It's very important having his bat in the lineup. So again, there are some decisions we need to still make and I haven't really come to a conclusion yet."

Before playing Wednesday, Lowell had just one at-bat since Sept. 16 when he aggravated the injury against the Rays while fielding a slow roller off the bat of Jason Bartlett.

Asked how this compares to other injuries in his career, Lowell said, "It is the worst" in terms of pain. "Hands down. I don't think anything compares to this. I've never had to take measures to get ready for a game the way I am now. But I don't regret it."

Francona acknowledged that Lowell may pay for playing through the pain later in his career, saying, "He's beating his body up, and as a manager or a teammate, I don't know how you can't respect that to the nth degree. He's the ultimate teammate." It was a sentiment echoed by Dustin Pedroia: "When you see Mike Lowell out there playing, how much pain he's in, you want to go out there and do all you can to help us win. It's a huge lift for us."

Francona said he did not consider taking Lowell out for defensive purposes at the end of Wednesday's game, because Lowell at third and Kevin Youkilis at first trump any other permutation.

Remaining times set

Major League Baseball announced game times for the remainder of the Sox-Angels series: Game 3 Sunday night at Fenway Park starts at 7:17; Game 4 Monday at Fenway (if necessary) is at 8:37, but will move to 8:07 if the Rays-White Sox series has concluded; and Game 5 Wednesday at Angel Stadium (if necessary) is at 9:37, but will move to 8:37 if the Rays-White Sox series is over . . . J.D. Drew apparently came through Game 1 in good shape, especially considering that he barely had any baseball activity the past six weeks. Though he went hitless, Drew said he felt he had good swings at some pitches and was happy to get through an entire game without aggravating his injured back. "Hopefully, everything will continue to improve and I can build endurance and strength as the series goes along," Drew said . . . Although Pedroia yelled "Three" at Youkilis, indicating he should throw to third, the first baseman said he didn't hear anything. But on the eighth-inning play that erased Vladimir Guerrero at third base Wednesday, Youkilis demonstrated his athleticism - and helped the Sox get a key out. On the play, Youkilis couldn't corral a bloop single to right by Torii Hunter but then gloved the ball on the ground and fired to third to get Guerrero, a huge play in a 2-1 game. Youkilis's philosophy, he said, was not to hesitate. "I just got the ball, 'cause I knew when the ball drops like that, there's always a chance they might go to third," he said. "I didn't know if he was going or not, I just got up and threw to the bag. I'm actually just trying to stop him from going to third base." He added, "It probably would have been easier if I just caught the ball in the first place, would have gotten us out of the inning quicker." . . . Jacoby Ellsbury is 9 for 14 with five doubles in his last three playoff games. On Wednesday, he became the fourth Red Sox player to steal two bases in a postseason game. Jimmy Collins did it in Game 2 of the 1903 World Series, Harry Hooper in Game 2 in the 1912 World Series, and Juan Beniquez in Game 1 of the 1975 AL Championship Series.