Postseason form

Beckett rolling through tremendous two-month stretch

 

Royal pain

The Royals knocked off the Sox, 8-6, Thursday at Fenway. The Sox built a 4-0 lead, but their bullpen got bullied around by K.C., which entered the night with the second-worst offense in MLB.    METRO

 

As Josh Beckett’s All-Star campaign reaches its midway point, there aren’t many better than the Red Sox ace.

The 29-year-old right-hander, who will take one more turn in the Boston rotation Sunday before the All-Star break, has won eight of his last nine decisions, including Monday’s 5-2 victory against the Oakland A’s.

In 12 starts since the beginning of May, Beckett has given up three or fewer earned runs 10 times.

No opponent has chased him before the seventh since the Rays on April 30.

“He understands days when we need innings,” manager Terry Francona said. “He’s very aware.”

Still, it doesn’t seem enough for Beckett (10-3). After giving up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings Monday, he looked positively morose in his postgame press conference.

(Morose, that is, for a guy who’s been one of the best in baseball for two and a half months.)
“Obviously, I blew it in April,” said Beckett, who has 99 career wins. “I feel like I’ve had a good couple of months and really gotten back on track.”

Beckett had a 7.22 ERA in five April starts. Without those, he could have been in contention to start the All-Star Game for the American League.

The secret to the resurgence could be the biting, sinking two-seam fastball that’s such a weapon against left-handed hitters. Beckett didn’t think it was great Monday, but Francona was impressed.

One stat, perhaps, tells the most about Beckett’s season: The Red Sox have lost just four of his 17 outings entering Sunday, and never two in a row.

“We try to win every night,” Beckett said. “I go into each game thinking I need to win that game.”