June 16, 2008:
Beckett Shaky off of DL as Phils take Opener
Philadelphia 8, Boston 4
Fenway Park may be a hitter's park, but experiencing Citizens Bank Park was a rollercoaster for Josh Beckett and the Red Sox last night. With the wind blowing strongly out to left, the Phillies knocked Beckett around behind four home runs, including the first of Kyle Kendrick's career.
In his first start since coming off the disabled list, Beckett twice coughed up leads handed to him by his offense. Leading 1-0 in the third thanks to a Kevin Youkilis RBI double, Beckett gave up a pair of two-run home-runs to Greg Dobbs and Ryan Howard before recording a single out in the bottom of the inning.
"I wasn't spotting my fastball as well as I can and they took advantage," Beckett said afterwards. "It wasn't rust, it was just poor performance on my behalf and I let the guys down."
Trailing 4-1, the Red Sox did manage to tie the game up in the 5th against Philadelphia starer Kyle Kendrick. With one out, David Ortiz hit his home-run of the season, a solo shot down the right field line. Following a Manny Ramirez long fly that was tracked down against the wall by Shane Victorino, J.D. Drew took a walk and scored on Dustin Pedroia's double to cut the lead down to one. Julio Lugo followed with a sure inning-ending ground out, but third baseman Greg Dobbs couldn't handle the liner, allowing Pedroia to come home from second with the tying run.
In the bottom half of the inning, tough, the Phillies came right back, highlighted by Chase Utley's two-run home run that put Philadelphia back in the lead for good. Ryan Howard would eventually advance to third, but was stranded when Beckett managed to strike out by Greg Jenkins and Jason Werth to end the inning.
Philadelphia added two more insurances runs in the seventh to pull away and take the opener from the Red Sox.
W: Kendrick (6-2) L: Beckett (5-3)
Player of the Game: Chase Utley (3-4, HR, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs)
Around the League:
...Boston claimed CF Willie Bloomquist (91 ABs, .319 avg., .794 ops) off waivers from Seattle and designated CF Rob Mackowiak (26 ABs, .154 avg., .361 ops) for assignment...New York signed SP Mike Mussina (7-3, 4.27 ERA) to a two-year contract extension worth $2.98m per year...Cincinnati 1B Drew Anderson (.476 avg., 6 HRs, 11 RBIs) won the NL Player of the Week award....CF John Hamilton (.550 avg., 3 HRs, 5 RBIs) of the Texas Rangers won the AL Player of the Week award...