The Red Sox righty took the mound for the first time since May 18 after suffering a lower back strain and looked like the ace Boston needs for the second half of the MLB season.
Beckett went four innings, making just one mistake – a Jason Botts solo homer. He was limited to 68 pitches, throwing 42 of them for strikes and fanning four batters while giving up just two hits.
"He did a great job. His stuff was outstanding, and he did a good job controlling the tempo of the game," said manager Torey Lovullo. "He was on-line throwing a lot of strikes, and that’s what we were looking for."
The big right-hander stuck mostly to his fastball and cutter for the first two innings, deviating only twice with a curveball. Through two frames, he had thrown a manageable 35 pitches, 20 for strikes, often missing just off the outside corner. But Beckett took his final two innings to work on his secondary pitches, cranking up the curveball and the occasional change-up, producing a mixed bag of balls and strikes.
"The secondary pitches are things that will trickle along," Lovullo said. "But for the most part, he got through the outing healthy, he felt great, and his fastball was electric. The secondary stuff, in bits in pieces, was there for him. He threw some change-ups and some quality breaking balls."
"What you’re trying to do in this situation is try to ramp him up in as many situations as possible, whether it be him commanding his fastball or controlling the game. He had everything thrown at him at one time, and it was really good to see him go to work."
Though it was only four innings, Beckett put together a solid body of work, handling a variety of situations. From being caught by a completely new catcher — a phenomenon he may see more of given Victor Martinez’s and Jason Varitek’s injuries — to battling with Syracuse’s Boomer Whiting in an 11-pitch at-bat — which Beckett won by inducing a flyout — Beckett not only responded to every situation but also improved with each inning.
"His stuff was getting better as we were going on," said catcher Mark Wagner, who admitted the only time he caught him before was a bullpen session in spring training. "Right as we were getting ready to take him out, his stuff was getting sharper and crisper, which was really impressive."
Beckett also was aided by an early two-run lead, as the PawSox scored both of their runs in the bottom of the first. Ryan Kalish swiped the first of his three stolen bases after a leadoff single, and Bubba Bell singled him home for the 1-0 lead. Bell made it to third after Lars Anderson knocked a single of his own two batters later, and Wagner followed suit with an RBI single to extend the lead.
A platoon of Rich Hill, Michael Bowden, Blake Maxwell and closer Fernando Cabrera shut out the Chiefs and gave up only four more hits in the remaining five frames.
The only blemish on Beckett’s return was the cut fastball left out over the plate in the fourth inning that Botts deposited over the outfield wall for a home run. Beckett overcame the home run and responded by striking out the next batter with some high heat.
Afterwards though, it was Wagner taking the blame for the home run, saying he called the wrong pitch.
"I told him, ‘my bad,'" Wagner said with a laugh.
Pitching coach Rich Sauveur said, who checked in with Beckett after every inning, liked what he saw out of the veteran ace.
"If you go four innings and give up only one run, that’s not a bad job," Sauveur said. "I saw no problems today, and I asked him after every inning, and he had no qualms."
Beckett didn’t speak with the media after the game, and Sauveur refused to speculate on a definite timetable for Beckett’s return to the Boston rotation.
"I’m never going to make that call and I never will," he said with a smile. "You can ask that question of someone else."
But he did offer a prediction for the next week: "He should be back pitching in four or five days, I do see that."
