Indeed, most of the postgame talk was centered on Beckett, with a dose of Jed Lowrie and just a tiny mention of Mike Cameron's two great defensive plays in the ninth.
Since we are exploring the other two guys, here is one take on what Cameron's glove did for the team, from the mouth of the guy those plays saved.
"I told him when we got to the clubhouse that it's a lot harder play than most people think," Jonathan Papelbon said of Crawford's sliding grab to end the game with a man on. "And for him to make it look so easy shows how athletic he is."
Remember, that was the second inning Cameron had every played left field at Fenway Park. Not a bad fourth outfielder.
With that, we say goodnight. Look for more on the site in regards to Beckett and Lowrie, and check back tomorrow morning for all the updates leading up to the third game of the series. It will be Jon Lester against Jesse Litsch in a 1:35 affair.
Final, Red Sox 4-1: The Josh Beckett revival continues as he wins his second straight start to give the Red Sox just their third victory of the year.
One note on the ninth inning. Mike Cameron is playing left field at Fenway Park for the first time ever, and only did so for the final two innings. His first ever chance was a screaming liner ticketed for the base of the wall, not an easy play at all. Yet, Cameron made it look easy with an over-the-shoulder grab just in front of the scoreboard. His next chance was a sliding catch on a bloop down the line to end it.
Such a solid defender.
That helps Jonathan Papelbon cruise through the Jays in the ninth, despite an error on Kevin Youkilis (questionable ruling, to say the least). Papelbon has allowed just two men to reach in four scoreless innings since his season debut in Texas.
Back in a bit with some postgame reaction.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Jed Lowrie is back at .500 (11-for-22) after an infield hit to start the eighth.
He is out trying to steal second as Dustin Pedroia went down swinging. Adrian Gonzalez also whiffed, turning this game over to Jonathan Papelbon.
Papelbon has 24 saves, six wins and a 1.36 ERA in 42 career games vs. Toronto.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-1: The Blue Jays got the leadoff man on when John McDonald had an infield single. I know Toronto is trying to run on Red Sox pitching/catching, but is that the right time? Down three runs and with a very average runner on base?
It was an odd decision, and it didn't pay off. McDonald was out by several feet.
That gave Daniel Bard a boost. He struck out Yunel Escobar and got Corey Patterson on a grounder down the line. Adrian Gonzalez was in the no-doubles defense and right there to make a nice pick.
The last time Bard faced Corey Patterson was in spring training and he hit him in the head with a fastball near 100 mph. Much less dramatic this time, thankfully.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-1:That will do it for Josh Beckett. He gives up a run on three hits while striking out nine. Daniel Bard is on. Great effort for Beckett once again.
Also a great play turned by the Blue Jays to end another Red Sox threat in the seventh.
Jacoby Ellsbury lashed a shot to third base, where John McDonald smothered the ball, found it and threw a one-hopper to first. Nice scoop by Adam Lind with Ellsbury bearing down on him with thoughts of an RBI single.
Red Sox are 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and have left 11 on.
3:45 p.m.: The J.D. Drew haters have some more ammunition after he pinch hits for Darnell McDonald with two men in scoring position and proceeds to pop to third.
That prompts a pitching change for John Farrell. Luis Perez, a lefty, is making his Major League debut. He will face Jacoby Ellsbury.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Josh Beckett has struck out 19 men in 15 innings in these last two starts. His ERA is below 2.00 and everything is working right now.
Travis Snider and Jayson Nix were strikeout victims in the seventh. Jose Molina lined to first to end the inning on Beckett's 101st pitch.
Daniel Bard is up in the Red Sox bullpen.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Just two singles for the Red Sox since Jed Lowrie's two-run homer in the second. Josh Beckett has thrown 91 pitches as he begins the seventh.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-1: A pair of Toronto beat writers glanced up at the scoreboard in the sixth and remarked at how amazing it is that the score is just 4-1. Seems like the Red Sox' lead is so much larger.
Just then, Josh Beckett walked Adam Lind with two outs and had to face Aaron Hill, who kills him. You realized then how small the margin for error is due to Boston's inability to get the big hit. If Hill got a hold of one it was a one-run game.
So what does Beckett do? He drops in a beautiful curve for strike one, blows a sharp cutter by Hill for strike two, and then gets him with another bender in the dirt, three beautiful pitches by the surging Beckett.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-1: I know you are all ga-ga over Jed Lowrie right now, but Jacoby Ellsbury will be back in that leadoff spot before too long.
The move to thrust Ellsbury out of that spot was probably a little too quick anyway. Sure, he was struggling, but so was everyone, and Carl Crawford sat there for six games, going 3-for-28 with no walks.
Ellsbury had a hit and a steal last night and has reached base all three times today (two walks, one HBP). He just swiped his third bag of the year before being stranded on a Jed Lowrie fly to left.
If Ellsbury can just reach base a couple of times a game, there's no reason to move him around. Crawford doesn't seem to want the gig as much as Ellsbury, and Lowrie needs to be somewhere where he can drive in runs.
Hey ladies, a few words. If your boyfriend has two tickets for a Sox game and he's acting a bit weird, chances are you will be proposed to in front of 38,000. Every home game has had one shown live on the new video board. So far everyone has said yes, much to the chagrin of us crusty writers in the press box.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-1: A wall-ball single by Jose Molina is all the Blue Jays get off Josh Beckett in the fifth. That's one earned run in the last 13 innings for Beckett.
In a side note, Matt Albers, on the disables list with a strained lat, will throw Sunday and Tuesday in rehab appearances for Pawtucket. He is eligible to come off the DL on April 21.
End 4th, Red Sox 4-1: Boston has already left eight men on base after a pair are stranded in the fourth.
Josh Beckett heads out there having thrown 60 pitches. He's in great shape.
2:44 p.m.: Jo-Jo Reyes must go-go away….es. He gives up a single and a walk to start the fourth and is given the hook by old pal John Farrell.
Reyes is fortunate to be down just 4-1. He gave up seven hits, five walks and hit a man. Just ugly stuff right there for a guy who is technically fighting for a rotation spot.
Kevin Youkilis is up with two on and no outs.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 4-1: Give Dustin Pedroia the Gold Glove right now. He makes one or two diving or sliding plays a game it seems. Just a great defensive second baseman.
Pedroia's backhanded stop on his rear highlighted another scoreless inning for Josh Beckett.
For what it's worth, the team ERA with Jason Varitek behind the plate is down to 3.19. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia, it's at 8.04.
It's not time to abandon Salty, but here is one case for a more equal sharing of playing time.
Aaron Hill walked and stole second against Beckett and Varitek. That gives him five thefts already, one shy of a career high. One big reason is the Red Sox' inability to limit opponents' running games. Hill has three steals in the series and the Jays have six. None have been caught.
End 3rd, Red Sox 4-1: Jed Lowrie made a bid for another extra-base hit but just didn't get enough of it to get it over the head of right fielder Jose Bautista.
Jacoby Ellsbury was nearly hit with a pitch in a second-inning walk. He takes one off the right shoulder in the third, part of an extremely erratic effort so far for Jo-Jo Reyes, who has thrown 84 pitches already.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 4-1: Although I gave them a little grief for not pounding Jo-Jo Reyes a bit more in the bottom of the first, the Red Sox are showing signs of playing their first complete game of the year. By complete, I don't mean nine innings, but rather one that sees them outperform their opponent in all areas.
Josh Beckett has four strikeouts through three innings, Adrian Gonzalez has made two sparkling defensive plays (both on Corey Patterson) and the offense is off to a fast start.
It will take that sort of overall effort to get this thing going. And yes, I know Boston won 4-0 over New York in Beckett's last start, but they were horrendous with runners on that whole night. Should've been 10-0 if they just had a hit here and there.
End 2nd, Red Sox 4-1: Safe to say Jed Lowrie is locked in right now, folks.
Terry Francona said that Lowrie's stay at the top of the lineup will be brief, but if Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury both begin to struggle, and Lowrie continues to hit like this, there won't be anywhere to put him other than in those top two spots.
Lowrie won a battle with a distracted Jo-Jo Reyes (he threw to first base to check on Jacoby Ellsbury five times) by hammering a two-run homer into the first row of the Monster seats.
The shortstop/third baseman/second baseman/first baseman now has hits in nine of his last 12 at-bats.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-1: And that's why you can't waste bases-loaded, no-out situations. There is another team on the field that knows how to handle the bat and it's filled with guys who have hit Josh Beckett well.
Aaron Hill doubled with one out to improve to .424 (14-for-33) against Beckett and scored when Travis Snider singled him in.
Beckett did strike out the side, finishing it on a knee-buckler to Jose Molina.
End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: OK, so some good things happened in the bottom of the first, but let's focus on the bad.
What will take this lineup loaded with potential and make it great is when they start beating a few beatable pitchers into submission. They had the opportunity in the first, and failed.
A single, walk, single, double and walk gave Boston a 2-0 lead and left the bases loaded with no outs. Three straight right-handed hitters were due up against a lefty in Jo-Jo Reyes who had yet to show anything of note.
The first two — Mike Cameron and Jason Varitek — go down on strikes, and the third, Darnell McDonald, grounds out weakly to second.
Two runs are on the board, but this offense has to start putting up some bigger numbers when it is given the opportunity.
Reyes needed 37 pitches to survive.
1:29 p.m.: The venerable Jo-Jo Reyes has yet to record an out after having pitched to five Red Sox hitters. It is 2-0, the bases are loaded and Mike Cameron is up.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Josh Beckett now has nine straight scoreless innings after a nice 1-2-3 to start this one off. Give Adrian Gonzalez credit with a nice stop down the line at first and then a flip to a covering Beckett for the second out.
11:55 a.m.: It was Josh Beckett who first threw out the "100-win" target this spring. Here was the quote:
"I've always wanted to be on a team that won 100 games. I feel like this team has a chance to do something really, really special like that."
Now, here he is pitching on April 16 just hoping to help the team pick up No. 3. To reach Beckett's goal, the Red Sox will need to go 98-52 the rest of the way. This is a franchise that has reached that mark in entire seasons just five times before.
Still, baby steps, right? Beckett was outstanding in his prior start, and the absence of Alex Rodriguez didn't matter much. He was still facing some very good hitters who had little chance against some of his stuff.
Now, we have to see if he can get rid of his Blue Jays bugaboo. Beckett is 3-6 with a 7.03 ERA in his career vs. Toronto. Among those that have hurt him in today's lineup are Jose Bautista (3-for-6, 2 HRs), Adam Lind (8-for-16, 4 2Bs, 1 HR), Aaron Hill (13-for-32, 6 2Bs, 1 HR), Travis Snider (4-for-9, 1 HR) and John McDonald (4-for-7, 1 2B). Those first four bat consecutively in the lineup, presenting a combined .444 average.
The rest of the lineup is a combined 6-for-47 (.128) with 13 strikeouts. Quite a contrast.
10:51 a.m.: Terry Francona said that he wanted to wait until Monday to rest Carl Crawford, seeing that as a good day with tough lefty Ricky Romero on the mound.
But he just couldn't wait. Francona said that Crawford "really wanted to play" when they sat down last night/this morning, but it's time to give his left fielder a day off, at least to start.
"He's going through a really tough time," Francona said.
The Red Sox manager reminded reporters how highly he thinks of his leadoff…er…No. 3 hitter….er….whatever Crawford is right now.
"He's trying too hard. We know how good he's going to be."
As for the insertion of Jed Lowrie today, Francona insisted that will not be a long-term thing. This is a strange stretch for Boston — it played several games in a row against right-handers, and now is facing lefties in five out of six games. There will be odd looks to the lineup from time to time.
Francona knows that Lowrie, a .471 hitter so far, is as good an option as there is for the time being.
"He's going to give us four, five really good at-bats, and maybe a chance to win today," Francona said.
It's a bit of a different day here today. With photo day (see earlier note) the clubhouse is somewhat vacant as guys are getting work in elsewhere, either hitting in the cage under the stands or running in the outfield. There is also a ton of talk about the weather that is on its way. It's going to get pretty wild tonight, and the storm's approach has kicked up a rather significant wind here.
9:41 a.m.: Below are the lineups. Jed Lowrie will play short and hit in the ever-changing leadoff spot.
Quite a shakeup here in a day game after a night game.
Red Sox
Jed Lowrie, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Cameron, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Darnell McDonald, LF
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Blue Jays
Yunel Escobar, SS
Corey Patterson, CF
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Travis Snider, LF
Jayson Nix, DH
Jose Molina, C
John McDonald, 3B
9:23 a.m.: Greetings from Fenway Park, where it is Jo-Jo Reyes starting for Toronto, and not Jesse Litsch, as noted earlier. Litsch is going Sunday. My mistake at 12:46 a.m.
We will have the lineups over for you in a bit, as well as any pregame pep talks. It's a chilly one, so bundle up if you are coming to the game, and come early if you want to have your picture taken with Red Sox players.
Gates will open around 11 a.m. and fans can line up on the warning track for a chance to take a photo with their faves. It runs from 11:40-12:15.
8 a.m.: Josh Beckett delivered the Red Sox their last win with an eight-inning gem against the New York Yankees on Sunday. He will try to help them get their next victory when he takes on the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Boston has lost three straight (to go along with a rainout and a day off) since Beckett tossed eight scoreless vs. the Yankees. The latest was a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays in the opener of the four-game series Friday night, a game that saw the Red Sox blow a 3-0 lead.
What made the Beckett start six days ago special is that it came against a team that had hit him hard in recent years. The same can be said for Toronto, against whom Beckett is 3-6 with a 7.03 ERA.
Right-hander Jesse Litsch will start for the Jays.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
