'07 Ace saves floundering Sox

Jed Lowrie had three hits and a homer, and Josh Beckett only gave up 3 hits and a run in his 7 innings of work. Of course, Jason Varitek was behind the plate, so although he was hitless, he contributed well. He also caught a runner, John McDonald, at second in the eighth while catching for Dan Bard. Adrian Gonzalez singled in the first, followed up by Kevin Youkilis's double to put the Sox on top 2-0, and Toronto managed 2 hits in the second and a run, but Beckett was dominant from then on, allowing just 1 more hit. In fact, the Sox managed to put their first 5 men on base and scored a pair. Apparently, when Beckett has Varitek behind the plate, he pitches dominantly like he did in '07 when he won 20 for the World Champions. Dustin Pedroia managed another hit, although his average fell to .340, but Lowrie is making his case at shortstop, batting .500 in his handful of games so far. The Sox are now 3-10, and will try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon, Jon Lester will take on Jesse Litsch. Lester looks for his first win of the season, and it is my guess that Lowrie will get another chance to prove that today wasn't a fluke. Litsch is the only righthander the Sox will face in this series, and one of two they will face in this and the next.

Trivia
Varitek is batting just .077, but he is catching well for Beckett.