April 26, 2007
...
Wily Mo
Pena knocked a 430-foot grand slam that made Josh Beckett the majors'
first five-game winner this season after a 5-2 victory over the
Orioles.
The
watchword for Beckett was patience. Three times last night, he gave up a leadoff
double. Brian Roberts doubled, stole third, and scored on an infield out in the
first, Baltimore's first lead in 27 innings. Ramon Hernandez doubled to open the
third and scored on Melvin Mora's two-out double. In each of those innings, the
Orioles scored just once. The third time, when Mora doubled to open the sixth,
he did not advance.
Pitching
coach John Farrell said he and Terry Francona discussed sending Beckett out for
the ninth and a chance for a complete game. Instead, they summoned Jonathan
Papelbon, who like Beckett has a perfect record for the month except his streak
includes last April, too (17 saves in 17 chances, seven this season).
Beckett
came into the game with the best run support in the majors. The Sox had scored
32 runs while he was in the game in his first four starts, an average of 11.68
runs per nine innings. In his last start against the Yankees, he was tagged for
two runs in each of his first two innings, but by the end of the fourth, the Sox
had seven runs on the board.
Tonight,
he had to wait until the sixth before the Sox offense kicked in against lefty
Adam Loewen, who held them to one hit in the first five innings and induced
Ortiz to tap back to the mound after he'd walked the bases loaded with two outs
in the third.
The
Orioles had runners in scoring position in six of Beckett's eight innings, but
he did not break. The O's were just 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position,
which is one way they've managed to lose 17 of 20 to the Sox since the start of
the 2006 season.
The Sox
had just one hit in eight chances with RISP, but that was Pena's slam deep into
the left-center-field seats.
For Sox
fans, it should become less surprising that Beckett is reeling off wins. Hanley
Ramirez may be hitting .366 in Florida, but with Beckett sitting at 5-0, the
lamentations over that trade have quieted so far.
Though
Francona had mentioned the disabled list as a possibility for injured center
fielder Coco Crisp Wednesday, it appears Crisp won't need the recovery time to
come back from the tightness in his oblique that has cost him the starting
lineup the last five games. Francona had said before the game the team would
evaluate Crisp after he worked out harder yesterday, making sure no stiffness
occurred as he sat in the dugout during the game. Crisp said there were no ill
effects after the prolonged workout.
Jon
Lester was scheduled to have tests in Boston to check on his progress from ana
plastic large cell lymphoma. Results are not expected for a few days. Barring
another rainout, which bumped his scheduled start Wednesday, Lester is on tap to
pitch his first game for Pawtucket tonight against Buffalo.
With the
series sweep, the Red Sox are now 9-2 at Camden Yards since the start of 2006.
They are 17-3 against the Orioles overall over that same stretch.
Mike
Lowell's eighth-inning double extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Lowell
came home on Wily Mo Pena's grand slam. Josh Beckett tied the Red Sox record
for wins in April with his fifth. Babe Ruth (1917) and Pedro Martinez (2000)
share the mark. Jonathan Papelbon remained perfect for his career in April,
running his saves record to 17 for 17 in the month. It was his seventh save of
2007. He has never allowed a run against the Orioles.
