BRONX, New York -- Despite struggling through a
disappointing season, Josh Beckett clearly still knows how to
pitch at Yankee Stadium.
Beckett tossed six solid innings and David Ortiz hit two doubles
to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-2 victory over the New York
Yankees in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Florida Marlins, Beckett
(15-10) has been wildly inconsistent in his first year with the
Red Sox.
"I definitely had to learn the hard way in a few starts this
year," Beckett said. "Do I think I've won enough? No, and
most of that is my fault."
But the hard-throwing righthander, who was named the 2003 World
Series MVP after leading the Marlins to a series-clinching win
here in Game Six, looked sharp on Saturday. He yielded two runs
and four hits, walking five and striking out four.
"I think everybody makes adjustments, hitters and pitchers,"
Boston manager Terry Francona said of Beckett. "But I also
think it goes game to game. He's got pretty much the same stuff
and he's more aware now of trying to get enough offspeed over
to make hitters aware of it so he can be successful with his
fastball."
"He was throwing a little bit harder today," added Yankees
captain Derek Jeter, who extended his hitting streak to a
career-high 24 games with a single in the fifth inning. "His
fastball was moving and he threw some cutters and sinkers and
two-seamers. He was tough on us."
It was Beckett's first win in four starts and just his second
victory since July 24, a span of 10 outings.
"I definitely think I stuck to the game plan better today,"
Beckett said. "Dougie (catcher Doug Mirabelli) seemed to be
throwing down the right fingers and when we didn't throw the
right pitch, they hit it at somebody."
Three Red Sox relievers combined to work two frames to set up
Mike Timlin, who logged a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Mark Loretta and rookie David Murphy each had two hits for
Boston, which won for just the second time in its last 11
meetings with rival New York.
Trailing, 2-0, the Red Sox took the lead for good in the fourth
inning against starter Chien-Ming Wang (17-6). Mirabelli halved
the deficit with an RBIs single and Murphy followed with a
run-scoring double, forging a tie. Alex Cora gave Boston a 3-2
edge by plating Mirabelli with a grounder to second.
Wang lasted just five-plus innings, allowing three runs and nine
hits. The righthander walked one and struck out three en route
to his first loss since August 13, a span of six starts.
"I didn't think he had his good command," Yankees manager Joe
Torre said of Wang. "But again, he battled through, didn't give
them a whole lot. They had that one inning off him and he
certainly kept us in the game."
With the loss, New York's magic number to clinch its ninth
consecutive American League East Division title remained at six.