Beckett’s Scoreless Streak Ends At 14 IP, Red Sox Defeat Mariners 3-1

By andrew macdonald in Red Sox ⋅ July 24, 2011 at 12:14am ⋅ Post a comment

After pitching 14 innings of scoreless ball, all it took was one swing of the bat for Josh Beckett to look human again. The damage was done by first baseman Mike Carp, who homered in the top of the 7th on Saturday night, in a game eventually won by the Red Sox 3-1.

Seventh Inning Stretch

After two quick outs, the Red Sox did what they have done best this season- score in the seventh inning.They have now outscored opponents 92-33 in this inning alone. Red Sox captain Jason Varitek started the rally with a single to center and should have scored on a double by Scutaro, but some “pink hat” who needed something to tell his boring co-workers on Monday reached over the rail and the hit resulted in a ground rule double and neither men were able to score. Ellsbury singled up the middle anyway, driving in both men. He later scored the final Red Sox run on a wild pitch.

No Backing Down For Beavan

Fearless. That’s the word that best describes Blake Beavan’s performance on the mound Saturday evening. He has only made three other starts for Seattle this season (1-1, 2.70), but he toed the rubber with what seemed like the confidence of an old veteran. Beavan went right after one of the best lineups in all of baseball with a ferociousness that was very reminiscent of his counter part this evening- Josh Beckett. The 22-year-old Texan displayed exactly why he was a worthy enough name to be traded for Cliff Lee last season as he kept the Red Sox off-balance and relatively quiet for most of the night.

For six and two-thirds innings, Beavan challenged the Red Sox offence head-on and nearly shutdown one of the best line-ups in baseball. Good pitchers should be measured by not only how little mistakes they make, but also by how well they work at trying to fix those mistakes. Beavan was in trouble in the second inning with runners on the corners, he kept the speedy Crawford in line and got out of the only somewhat dangerous jam (besides the seventh inning) of his outing. We should all keep our eyes on him. He’s an “ace in the making” on a very solid Seattle Mariners pitching staff.

Game Notes

The Mariners have now lost fourteen straight games
This win marks Terry Francona’s 1000th win as a manager
Dustin Pedroia has extended his hitting streak to twenty games, he’s batting .398 during this time
Beavan is the seventh Mariner to make his debut this season
Mike Carp’s seventh inning home run was only the second home run Beckett has given up at home all year

Tags: Blake Beavan, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett, Marco Scutaro, Mike Carp, Red Sox, Seattle Mariners