Beckett Looks to Continue Celebration

Tuesday night’s walk-off victory sent loud cheers throughout Red Sox nation, mostly because of the sheer relief that the losing streak was over. The Sox offense had finally overcome a large deficit and had a number of great at-bats in clutch situations late in the game. Riding that high, Josh Beckett takes the mound Wednesday night looking to shut-down the sprinting Texas Rangers. At this point, the only way to stop Texas runners from stealing 9 bases against V-Mart and the Sox is to not allow them to reach base and I know that’s Beckett’s goal in game 2.

As much as I would like to imagine a Sox team that can dig themselves out of a big hole every night, it is just unrealistic. If the Sox are going to string together some victories, it has to start from the beginning with the pitching rotation. So far, 4 of the 5 starting pitchers have given up 9+ runs in 3 starts, with the fifth being Clay Buchholz, who has allowed 7 runs in just 2 starts, but just 2 of those runs were earned after his 1st inning meltdown after the error in his last start. I don’t expect a complete-game shutout from the Sox starters every night, but allowing an average of 4 or 5 runs in 5 or 6 innings is unacceptable.

The offense, more specifically Darnell McDonald, bailed out Tim Wakefield in Tuesday’s contest, but today needs to begin the pitching staff rejuvenation and in the past, the one guy you want on the mound in these situations is Josh Beckett. Beckett has a chance to set the tone for the other guys to follow and set an example for Clay Buchholz who will start the final game of the Texas Rangers series on Thursday and the struggling Jon Lester, who is slated to pitch the first game of the Baltimore Orioles series on Friday. Beckett is the leader of the Sox staff and needs to motivate his fellow pitchers by shutting down the Rangers.

If the starters can hold up their end of the bargain, the relief pitching needs to be just as solid. Tuesday night’s game was a perfect example of the importance of a ‘pen shutting down a team in the late innings to allow the offense to comeback. Manny Delcarmen looked strong, pitching 1.2 innings and striking out 1. His 2 walks were slightly unnerving, but scoreless and hitless innings are nothing to complain about. Hideki Okajima walked 1 and gave up 1 hit in a third of an inning and then Jonathan Papelbon closed the door in the top of the 9th to allow for McDonald to be the hero. It’s only one game, but it certainly makes me more optimistic about the possibilities of success in 2010.

Tuesday night was a great triumph, but as Terry Francona said after the game, “Everyone was involved and there’s a lot of enthusiasm. Again, the way the game started, to hear the music downstairs and see those guys’ faces after the game, that was important. Now, we need to make that … catapult us. We need to show up tomorrow and still play better.” The work begins again today with another opportunity for a victory.

Game Notes:

With the lefty Matt Harrison on the mound for the Rangers, Francona has gone with new Red Sox hero and right hander Darnell McDonald in center field and Mike Lowell at DH in place of David Ortiz. In lieu of lefties Hermida and Reddick, another righty, Bill Hall, will get the nod in left field. After a rough night on Tuesday, Victor Martinez will get a day off because Josh Beckett prefers throwing to Jason Varitek, but it also gives Francona the chance to get the hot-hitting catcher and captain some playing time. Francona has several lefties sitting on the bench if a pinch-hitting situation arises late in the game and if last night was any indication, he may dip into his bench for favorable match-ups in a close game.

Tonight’s Lineup – 7:10pm at Fenway Park (courtesy of Boston.com)

Boston Red Sox (5-9)

SS Marco Scutaro
RF J.D. Drew
2B Dustin Pedroia
1B Kevin Youkilis
DH Mike Lowell
C Jason Varitek
3B Adrian Beltre
CF Darnell McDonald
LF Bill Hall

Pitching: RHP Josh Beckett

Texas Rangers (5-8)

SS Elvis Andrus
3B Michael Young
LF Josh Hamilton
DH Vladimir Guerrero
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Chris Davis
C Matt Treanor
2B Joaquin Arias
CF Julio Borbon

Pitching: LHP Matt Harrison