Beckett to face familiar foe
New York Yankees (13-11) at Boston (15-11), 7:05 p.m. ET
By Ian Browne (mlb.com)
The career splits for Josh Becket indicate that he's never faced the Yankees before. However, that only accounts for the regular season.
Look on Beckett's resume for World Series statistics and his previous encounters with the Yankees speak loudly. In the 2003 Fall Classic, Beckett stymied the Yankees with a 1-1 record and a 1.10 ERA over two starts. The one win, of course, was not only in the Game 6 clincher, but it was on three days' rest. And it was in the hostile environment of Yankee Stadium that Beckett lifted his Florida Marlins to the top of the baseball universe.
Now, he's trying to conquer the same nemesis, but this time, as part of the biggest rivalry in baseball. Beckett is Boston's marquee addition to the rivalry this year, and he'll face the Yankees on Tuesday night at Fenway Park as the Red Sox go after the sweep of this brief, two-game series.
It's been nearly three years since the Yankees have seen him up close, but they remember what Beckett did.
"He had a great presence on the mound that night, which is what stands out to me more than anything," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "He has a lot of confidence. The only problem he's had over the last couple of years is being able to stay out there and take the ball every five days."
Beckett had a great beginning for the Red Sox, winning his first three starts. But he's hit a bump in the road his last two outings. Staked to a 6-2 lead on April 21 in Toronto, Beckett allowed the Blue Jays to come storming back. He got the no decision but the Red Sox lost the game. In his last outing, Beckett was pounded by the Guardians, giving up nine runs (eight earned) over 3 2/3 innings.
"No excuse. You just have to go out and execute pitches, and if you don't do that, balls get [belted] all over the place, just like they did," Beckett said following his Cleveland outing.
He'll try to regain his groove against the powerful Yankees. The Red Sox did a solid job holding down the Yankees in Monday's opener, prevailing by a score of 7-3.
Pitching matchup
BOS: RHP Josh Beckett (3-1, 4.50 ERA)
Beckett is coming off arguably the worst start of his career. In that humbling loss at Cleveland, Beckett was belted for a career-high nine runs, eight of which were earned. This will be the first time he's faced the Yankees since he conquered them in clinching Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. Beckett, then pitching for the Marlins, was the MVP of that Fall Classic.
NYY: RHP Shawn Chacon (3-1, 4.56 ERA)
Chacon has won three straight decisions, allowing two runs over 13 1/3 innings in his last two outings. Chacon was 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA in two outings (one start) against Boston last season.
Player to watch
Left fielder Manny Ramirez is hitting .353 in his last 15 games with 12 RBIs.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• NESN
On radio
• WEEI-850 AM
Up next
• Wednesday: Red Sox (RHP Matt Clement, 2-2, 6.14 ERA) vs. Blue Jays (RHP Roy Halladay, 3-1, 2.84 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Red Sox (LHP Lenny DiNardo, 0-1, 7.36 ERA) vs. Blue Jays (RHP Josh Towers, 0-5, 10.45 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Red Sox (RHP Curt Schilling, 4-1, 2.88 ERA) vs. Orioles (RHP Rodrigo Lopez 1-3, 6.81 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
(thought I'D keep the Mojo going)