Josh Beckett was as sharp as can be in his Monday afternoon start, tossing three perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla.
Beckett finished with zeros across the board, except for his three strikeouts. The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham noted that Beckett had "great fastball command … and is throwing his secondary stuff for strikes." He finished his outing having thrown 21 pitches, 16 for strikes.
Beckett was followed by Jonathan Papelbon, who walked one but allowed no more baserunners in his sole inning of work. Hideki Okajima followed, striking out two batters and allowing no baserunners in the fifth.
Offensively, starters Marco Scutaro and J.D. Drew were the stars. Scutaro, batting leadoff, went 2-for-3, including a single to lead off the game, while Drew belted a triple in his first plate appearance.
