Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett was scheduled to pitch the second inning in Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Phoenix — until his injured left knee got in the way.
Beckett, who left his last start prior to the All-Star break on Friday against the Orioles with a hyperextended left knee, tried to give it a go in the second inning, but shut it down after trying to warm up before his appearance.
Both Beckett and Red Sox manager Terry Francona seemed to think that the injury wasn't a big deal and that the right-hander was pulled after five innings on Friday night because of precautionary reasons.
"His stability is fine, so hopefully we dodged a little bit of a bullet," Francona said following Friday's game. "It was precautionary reasons. He could have pitched, but we didn't think that was a good thing to do."
At the time of the initial injury, Beckett confirmed Francona's optimism.
"It's a little tender, but it's not too bad," Beckett said on Friday. "It scared me more than anything."
