Beckett ready to start over

Ace insists oblique woes are history

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Before, Josh Beckett was a guarantee. Now, it's not so easy. Not that there isn't faith in what Beckett has done and can do in the postseason, but his performance in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Angels was hardly what the Red Sox have come to expect from their ace.

There are plenty of explanations, from manager Terry Francona, catcher Jason Varitek, and Beckett. But it will be left to Beckett's second postseason start, tonight in Game 2 of the League Championship Series against the Rays, to determine whether that outing was an aberration.

"I thought they did a good job of laying off some borderline pitches," Francona said of the Angels. "Now, again, I don't think it was vintage Beckett. But if they'd have left the strike zone, it might have changed the game a little bit, too. But they didn't."

Even with Francona's explanation, Beckett is going to have to submit a better performance for the Sox to win this series. He has repeatedly said his recent strained right oblique didn't have an effect on his start against the Angels, though the rust from a 13-day layoff didn't help.

"His ball was moving all over the plate, cutting and sinking," said Francona. "I think some of that is just trying to get a consistent arm slot. I think that was a big thing, just trying to find the slot. I think as you get comfortable, I wouldn't be shocked if his velocity goes up. Just because you're in that same slot, if you're throwing without effort instead of muscling, you're probably going to get a mile or two [per hour] just because of being smooth in your delivery and staying in your delivery."

Even with the poor outing, which pushed his career postseason ERA from 1.73 to 2.09, Beckett remained confident that nothing would be amiss when he takes the mound tonight, trying to give the Sox a 2-0 series lead.

"Yeah," Beckett said, when asked if he would be at his optimum level for the rest of the playoffs. "I'm going to be the best I can be."

Save after his save

For Jonathan Papelbon, there was more than one save last night.

He had forgotten the baseball he pitched to record the final out of the Game 1 win over the Rays gave him the record for the most career scoreless postseason innings at 20 2/3 over 13 outings, pushing him past Joe Niekro's 20 innings. So, he tossed the baseball in a trash can. That's one step up over letting his dog gnaw on it.

"I accidentally threw it away," Papelbon said. "Depends on how much the ball is worth, my dog might get it. Usually I just kind of throw them away or throw them in the corner. I threw this one away, and I wasn't even thinking that it was a major league record. Had to scurry back in here and grab it out of the trash."

Ball saved, fortunately.

Far more important than the piece of memorabilia was that Papelbon continued to show his best at the biggest moments. Postseason baseball, for him, is the perfect time.

"It's all about taking it to another level," Papelbon said, citing Celtics legend Bill Russell as a proven playoff performer. "You can look at all these great players throughout history and none of them were really remembered until they won championships. Or none of them are really remembered until they do special things in the postseason. I've always kind of taken that to heart with my play."

Papelbon also earned his sixth career postseason save in Game 1, but then described himself as "beat up."

"It's October baseball," he said. "I'm tired. Everybody else in this clubhouse is tired. But when my name gets called or everybody else's name gets called, [being tired is] way in the back of your mind. It's after the game. It's leading up to the game. It's that time of year."

Holding out hope

After Game 4 of the Division Series, Mike Lowell said he was directing his efforts toward trying to get back to a point where he might help the Sox in the World Series, if only in a reserve role. To that end, Lowell has been receiving treatment on his injured right hip. "I think we were kind of thinking this would happen," Francona said. "When he took a deep breath and let the air out, he was hurting. I don't think he allowed himself to [feel it] because he was still trying to play. He was competing. Then when we finally made a decision, he realized how much he was hurting. But the best thing they can do for him now is try to get the inflammation out now. That will make him more comfortable." . . . The Red Sox have won six straight postseason road games. The last team to do that was the Yankees, who accomplished it from the 2000 World Series to the 2001 ALCS. The record for consecutive postseason wins on the road is nine, which the Yankees did twice (1996 ALDS to 1997 ALDS, and 1937 World Series to 1942 World Series) . . . The shutout was the 22d in ALCS history.

Adam Kilgore of the Globe staff contributed to this report.