Sox Hit 4 homers, Josh Wins 7th

The Sox won again tonight. They beat the struggling Blue Jays 9-2 behind four homers (Varitek, Pedroia, Lowell, and Youkilis) and another stellar performance from Josh Beckett. Beckett went 7 innings and gave up one run. The only run scored on Beckett was Alex Rios' solo homer on his first pitch. After giving up a double to the next batter, Beckett settled down and got out of the inning without further damage. That would be all for Toronto. The next time they scored they closed a eight run gap to a seven run gap.

The Sox offense also took care of business tonight. They lit the very mediocre Victor Zambrano up for 8 runs in under three innings of work.

A little bit more on Beckett here...

Josh Beckett's performance has been lauded this season, and rightly so. He has pitched and won all seven games he's started this season. He has an ERA of 2.51 in 46.2 innings pitched, so he's pitched very well so far. The funny thing is that he could still be 7-0 even if he hadn't pitched so well. Here are his seven starts:

1. April 4th v. KC: Beckett gives up 1 run in 5 innings. Sox win 7-1.
2. April 10th v. Seattle: gives up 1 run in 7 innings. Sox win 14-3.
3. April 16th v. Angels: gives up 1 run in 6 innings. Sox win 7-2.
4. April 21st v. Yankees: gives up 4 runs in 6.2 innings. Sox win 7-5.
5. April 26th v. Baltimore: gives up 2 runs in 8 innings. Sox win 5-2.
6. May 2nd v. Oakland: gives up 3 runs in 7 innings. Sox win 6-4.
7. May 8th v. Toronto: gives up 1 run in 7 innings. Sox win 9-2.

Total Score: Sox 55, opponents 19
Averages score: Sox 7.86, opponents 2.71

In Beckett's seven starts the Red Sox have scored almost 8 runs per start while Beckett's opponents have only managed just under three. Beckett has been earning his wins, but the Red Sox have been making most of them stress-free affairs. I imagine this will even out a bit as the season goes on. Hopefully Josh can keep it going.

AL East: The Yankees beat the thoroughly rancid Rangers, 8-2. The Orioles beat Tampa. The Red Sox now lead the Yankees by 6.0 games, Baltimore by 7.0 games, Tampa by 7.5 games, and Toronto by 8.5 games. The Blue Jays have lost seven straight.

Today (Wednesday): The Red Sox send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Rogers Dome mound. He'll be opposed by Tomo Ohka. Gametime 7:07 (crazy Canadians!) PM EST.