Josh Beckett’s Performance Could Suffer if Red Sox Offense Keeps Him in Pitcher’s Purgatory

by abournenesn

Jun 11, 2012

Josh Beckett's Performance Could Suffer if Red Sox Offense Keeps Him in Pitcher's PurgatoryEditor's note: NESN.com is going to tell the story of the 2012 Red Sox in Bobby Valentine’s words. Each game day, we will select the best Valentine quote that sums up the day for the Red Sox.

Josh Beckett didn't throw a gem by any means on Monday night, but the Red Sox ace battled through seven innings of work to give the Boston bats a fighting chance. The issue: they didn't respond.

Beckett has been a consistent force the Red Sox over his past six starts, going at least seven innings and allowing no more than four runs in any of those efforts — averaging just 2.3 runs per outing over the stretch. Even with the dominance, though, Beckett still has an underwhelming 2-3 record to show for it, and much of that responsibility lies on the shoulders of a struggling offensive unit.

Boston's offense has provided Beckett an average of a mere three runs per game over the course of his past six starts, scoring five in the first two, three in the middle two and just one run in each of his past two outings. That sort of production — err lack there of — can be like a pitcher's purgatory.

On Monday night, Beckett allowed three runs in the first inning but was nearly untouchable over the course of the next six. He allowed a pair of hits in the second inning, including an RBI single to Donovan Solano, but then mowed down 15 of the next 16 Marlins hitters en route to another dominating performance on the mound.

The frustrated Beckett even refused to speak with the media for a second straight start, due to his unhappiness with the outcome in a 4-1 loss.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine acknowledged Beckett's displeasure after the game, explaining that the 32-year-old deserves better from his teammates.

"I thought he was terrific," Valentine said of Beckett. "This game he had pretty good stuff. If we had a couple of the breaks he probably would've deserved better."

Allowing four runs over seven innings by no means earns you the right to a victory. Those are mediocre numbers, at best, and are underwhelming for a pitcher the caliber of a Josh Beckett. But when your team just continues to produce nothing more than a handful of hits and a lone run of support, then you have the right to your frustrations.

The Red Sox just aren't getting it done at the plate right now, and as a result Beckett's numbers appear to be the biggest casualty of all.

A 1-7 stretch has dropped the Red Sox back down to an underachieving 29-32 record and, even worse, they now sit 6.5 games out of first place in the AL East.

Boston's offense clearly needs to find a spark somewhere within, and if they are unable to then the days of Beckett's all-out performances on the hill may come to a screeching halt. The frustration appears to be boiling over and if the results continue to fall short of the elite level of his performances, then his energy and effort may too take a bit of a swoon in the near future.

A frightening thought for the Red Sox, but one that should motivate the offense to improve their focus and hopefully turn their recent struggles into another successful run.

Sure, Beckett deserves better. But really, Boston deserves better.

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