I scored!

April 10, 2007

Since he just had his birthday, it seems like a great time to feature one of Josh Beckett's performances. We can take a quick look at the pitchers box, and see just how good. Seven innings pitched, and only two baserunners. Unfortunately they were back to back, accounting for the sole run against him. But, there's certainly nothing bad you can say about that game.

You probably can't say the same for the pitcher following Beckett. Donnelly only managed one third of an inning before being ejected. At the time we all thought it was a pretty weird turn of events. But, it apparently stemmed from and ongoing beef between Donnelly and Guillen of the Mariners. I'm sure that wasn't the sort of game he was looking for. Thankfully the rest of the bullpen was able to close it out.

Not that it apparently would have taken great pitching. Look at all those colored diamonds on the scorecard. Look at all those substitutions. Looks like the offense had it pretty well in hand. I always say that my favorite part about keeping score is being able to go back in time. In this case, back to a time where Dustin Pedroia was batting ninth so that Julio Lugo could lead off. Yikes! Also, I apparently didn't catch Pedroia's number...and didn't have it memorized yet. The rest of the order is also filled with blasts from the past. Mirabelli. Hinske. Pena, for crying out loud. 

The player of the game? I hate to, but I need to give it to Kevin Youkilis. Not that he had a bad game, but he really only earned the honor because he was the only top guy not subbed out halfway through. But, two doubles and two runs scored is a pretty good say from the second spot in the order.

The goat? Looks like I need to hang the horns on the aforementioned Pedroia. He was one of only two starters not to score, and the only one without a hit. I know you probably can't expect a great game from the nine hole. But, everyone else was off the charts, making his struggles stand out.

But, of course, it didn't matter. The Sox put up four in the first on their way to an amazing fourteen. Even without Josh Beckett on the mound, they probably would have won easily.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.