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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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A
POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
June 24, 2007
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While Beckett only had significant trouble with the Padres in the fifth inning - walk to Kevin Kouzmanoff, single by Geoff Blum, double by Terrmel Sledge - Peavy wasn't so lucky, even with a Red Sox lineup that replaced Kevin Youkilis with Beckett and got a single from the swap. By the time Peavy made his first plate appearance the Padres' ace had already thrown 72 pitches, given up enough well-placed singles to score three runs, and made Beckett's afternoon significantly easier. Even though Alex Cora's line single to right was the only solidly struck ball off Peavy in the third, the Red Sox strung together a blooper by Coco Crisp and singles between the first and second basemen (Cora had to hop over the one by David Ortiz) and a Manny Ramirez sacrifice fly to score three runs in a five-hit frame. Peavy was forced to throw 38 pitches in the inning, including 10 to Crisp. The Red Sox added another run on a 422-foot home run by Jason Varitek, on a 3-0 count, to lead off the eighth against Scott Linebrink. It was in the fifth, after the two-run double by Sledge with no outs, that Beckett had to be the most patient. After Sledge advanced to third on a ground out by Jose Cruz, Beckett left him 90 feet from tying the game when he induced a ground out by Michael Barrett and struck out Adrian Gonzalez on a curveball that looked just about perfect. So, too, could a loud and long smash by Kouzmanoff to lead off the seventh. With the game still 3-2, Kouzmanoff crushed a hanging curveball toward the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the left-field corner, where Ramirez was there to haul it in on the warning track. Perhaps it would have been a home run in most other parks. But Ramirez gathered it in, and Beckett stayed in long enough to get another at-bat and five more outs, before leaving the win in the capable hands of Jonathan Papelbon. Given a louder ovation than Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, who worked the top of the ninth, Papelbon struck out two to earn his 18th save. And, in the process, give Beckett his major league-leading 11th win, a feat Varitek attributed to his ability to "mix up his pitches well and mix up his tilts on his fastball." The news of Rod Beck's death, which occurred Saturday in his home in suburban Phoenix, arrived in the visitor's clubhouse before yesterday's game, his former Red Sox teammates learning of his death from members of the Padres who had also played with him. Beck, 38, pitched in Boston from 1999-2001 during a career that spanned 13 years and 286 saves and brought him to three All-Star Games. The cause of death wasn't known yesterday, but foul play is not suspected. Beck was found when police were called to his home. Four current Red Sox were teammates with Beck in Boston - Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Doug Mirabelli, and Manny Ramirez. Manager Terry Francona confirmed that Kason Gabbard will be called up from Pawtucket to take Curt Schilling's spot in the rotation tomorrow in Seattle, meaning Jon Lester will continue to pitch in Triple A. Gabbard will be placed on the active roster tomorrow, and it is likely David Murphy, the outfielder called up when Schilling was placed on the disabled list, will be sent down. There is also a chance it could be Manny Delcarmen if the team decides to stay with 11 pitchers. By coming in as a defensive replacement, Kevin Youkilis tied Stuffy McInnis' 86-year-old club record for consecutive errorless games as a first baseman with 119. Youkilis was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day. |
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