The same could be said of his season as a whole, for Minute Maid Park was where Beckett seemed to steer himself toward what has become an All-Star campaign.
It was March 30. Boston finished its spring training slate with a game in Houston before opening the regular season two days later in Arlington. Beckett, who was 0-4 with a 6.64 ERA in Grapefruit League action to that point, had one final tune-up, and found his groove just in time for the season to begin. He did not allow a hit that night until an infield single in the fifth, his only blemish in five scoreless frames.
Over three months later, that dominance continues, and Beckett was just as impressive Sunday in a game that actually mattered in the standings.
In his second start after a flu-ridden layoff, Beckett shined in front of family and friends, giving up just one run and striking out a season-high 11 in a 2-1 victory. The Astros managed just five hits overall. Beckett did not walk a single batter. In fact, he never even had a three-ball count.
"He's been so consistent," manager Terry Francona said of a guy who has rarely missed a beat since that spring training finale. "Every time he goes out … He was really good, and he had to be because we weren’t doing a whole lot offensively either."
Of course, one of Beckett's only negatives came one start ago in Philadelphia, where he gave up a season-high five runs in a loss to the Phillies. But it was such a minor bump in the road, and almost expected by some.
His partner in crime, Jason Varitek, knew that Beckett just needed to shake off the rust that had hindered him against the Phillies.
"Just time off," Varitek said when asked what the difference was five days ago in Citizens Bank Park. "You spend that much time off … just feel, the directness of the ball and that kind of stuff. There’s just a difference. It’s hard to explain unless you see it."
With that feel, that directness and a return to Houston, the righty provided a great example as to why he is an All-Star. Afterwards, he expressed humility about being selected to participate in the Midsummer Classic.
"It's a great honor. I'm pretty sure I got picked by the players … I wouldn't have it any other way. That's a really special way to be voted in, by the people I compete against," Beckett said.
If the Astros had a vote, they wouldn't have to think twice.
Beckett gave up two of his five hits in the bottom of the first, but escaped that jam unharmed. He struck out two in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth, part of a run of 11 straight outs.
A Brett Wallace double and Angel Sanchez RBI single in the fifth pulled Houston into a 1-1 tie, but Beckett stranded Sanchez at second with another strikeout and gave up just one hit thereafter. When the Red Sox scored a solitary run in the top of the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon got three outs in the bottom half, Beckett had his first win since June 15.
Beckett's average pitch count over the final five frames was 11.8. He made it look easy.
The Red Sox are likely happy to be finished with interleague play. Not many among them are big fans of the annual get-togethers with National League teams, and nobody seemed to fully enjoy nine straight games in NL parks.
Beckett, however, will have fond memories of one. It was in Houston in March that he set his course toward All-Star status. It was in Houston in July that he took his All-Star season to a new level.
