A Healthy Josh Beckett Is Making a World of Difference for Lively Red Sox

The 2010 season was one to forget for Josh Beckett. The Boston Red Sox ace right-hander, at 30 and in the middle of his prime, battled back and shoulder injuries throughout and struggled mightily when he did pitch; he threw only 127.2 innings, going 6-6 with an ungodly 5.78 ERA.

He allowed an equally disturbing 151 hits, watched 20 pitches fly out of the ballpark, gave up 82 earned runs in all and issued 45 walks. His control was considerably lacking and his fastball, in particular, was consistently straight, set on a tee for wide-eyed batters.

For comparison, during the previous season, he relinquished only nine more runs, five more homers and 10 more walks in 84.2 more innings.

He wasn’t at his best, but he certainly was sharper. Boston wanted him to get back to that form, at least, and the great hope was that he could do one better. Accomplishing this would mean duplicating and possibly improving upon his 2007 numbers.

This was his second season with the Red Sox and he was dominant, twirling his curveball to perfection while heating up the radar gun with 96 mph fastballs.

Twenty wins to only seven losses was the result.

He shattered his previous strikeout mark, 194 compared to 168, and had a 3.27 ERA. Now, he is healthy and ready to produce even more leading a brilliant Red Sox rotation.

Taking on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, the 31-year-old Texan was dazzling. This is nothing new. He entered this start with a 5-2 record and a 2.06 ERA. By the end, the record was improved and the ERA managed to decrease.

The Rays, who have surprised this season given how much talent they lost in the offseason, had no chance against Beckett. He had everything going on this evening—the 12-to-6 curveball, the devastating splitter and the overpowering heater.

Tampa’s hitters dug into the batter’s box time after time but were soon depressingly sent back to the dugout shaking their heads. He made quick work of the first eight, needing only 25 pitches to do so. Then he allowed his first baserunner, as ninth-place hitter Reid Brignac beat out a dribbler to third for an infield single, raising his batting average to .174.

“It was a three-iron out of the rough”, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said to the Boston Globe.

“I don’t know how he hit that ball," added third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who backed his ace with a three-run homer. "There was really no play on it.”

As a result, Beckett had a blemish on his line. It would be his only one.

He set down every hitter from then on out—all 19 Rays. He had only 76 pitches through seven innings and finished with under a 100. He was very economical, rarely forced into a deep count by sticking to his game plan and throwing his repertoire flawlessly.

Tampa Bay was just another victim.

“That’s about as good as you can pitch,” Francona said. “He was tremendous. It was fun to watch.”

He has been all year. The 2007 Josh Beckett led Boston to a World Series championship. The 2011 version appears equipped to do it again.