SWEPT AWAY BY A "RALLY MONKEY" ...
Beckett completes a shutout efficiently

June 20, 2009 ... Derek Lowe received standing ovations from the crowd of 38,029, receiving almost as much adoration as the Sox starter, Josh Beckett. While Lowe was good, he was no match for the Sox' No. 1. From his demeanor to his breaking ball to his overwhelming (and perfectly placed) fastball, Beckett was awesome in every sense, needing just 94 pitches and 2 hours 11 minutes to take out the Braves, 3-0.

Beckett took this one on himself, allowing just five hits, all singles, notching 11 straight outs from the fourth to the start of the eighth. No Brave reached second base until the eighth, and that rally fizzled with a double play. Beckett didn't need much help from a recently lackluster Sox offense. The first run, in the fifth, was all he needed.

Jacoby Ellsbury helped Josh Beckett emerge unscathed from the third inning, making an outstanding sliding catch before banging into the left-field scoreboard, denying Jeff Francoeur a likely double

Although Hideki Okajima warmed in the eighth, when Beckett allowed two singles, and Jonathan Papelbon got ready in the ninth, the services of neither were required.

Beckett's most important pitch was to Jeff Francoeur, which the outfielder slammed back to the mound. Had Beckett not nabbed the ball, it was unlikely the Sox would have gotten two. But he did, and in starting a double play he whipped perhaps his hardest throw of the evening at shortstop Nick Green.

From the start, it was clear the pitchers would rule this one. Between the 97-mile-per-hour fastball that vanquished Yunel Escobar to the infield single awarded to Chipper Jones that had the feel of an early no-hit spoiler, Beckett was dealing in the first. And Lowe wasn't far behind, opening with three ground outs. Sure, there were base runners, just not many.

Although Lowe's fastball might not be in the rarefied air of Beckett's, his sinker was no less effective than Beckett's four-seamer. He allowed his first hit in the second. Six straight outs followed, until Kevin Youkilis drew a walk with one out in the fourth. Lowe was the first to break. A two-out double by his old backstop, Varitek, evaded center fielder Nate McLouth in the fifth. A wild pitch sent Varitek to third, and Green followed with a double to center to drive in the game's first run.

Beckett got more support in the sixth on J.D. Drew's double off the Wall and Youkilis's single. The Sox tacked on a third run in the seventh on Varitek's second double, a single by Green, and a fielder's choice. That was all Beckett needed. And, after 94 pitches, it was all over. Tight, efficient, a joy to watch for those on the field, in the stands, and in the dugout.

With two doubles, Jason Varitek passed Nomar Garciaparra for sole possession of eighth place on the Sox' all-time list with 281.