Game One to Boston

Josh Beckett struck out 7 and walked
just 1 in Boston's 5-3 victory over Seattle.

The Red Sox came out strong for the first half of their doubleheader with the Seattle Mariners today, taking them down by a 5-3 final score.

Josh Beckett hurled 6 very strong shutout innings before things fell apart for him in the 7th. Two homers gave the Mariners 3 runs before the Sox fireballer exited with 1 out in the inning. The final line on Beckett showed 6.1 innings pitched with just 3 earned runs -- still a solid outing for the righty, who picked up his 4th win of the season.

Offensively, it was the 5-6-7 spots in the order that got the job done for Boston. Daniel Nava had 2 RBIs on his single in the sixth inning, and Adrian Beltre, Mike Lowell, and Darnell McDonald each drove in a run as well. For Beltre, it was his team-leading 87th RBI of the season.

Bridging the gap from Beckett to Papelbon, Daniel Bard was impressive once again today. He tossed 1.2 hitless innings, lowering his ERA to 1.82 on the year. Papelbon continued his resurgence at the back end of that bullpen, picking up his 32nd save of the season and dropping his ERA under 3.00 (2.96).

The Sox will rest for a little while before gearing up for game two of this doubleheader tonight. Jon Lester will take the mound in an exciting pitching matchup that sets Felix Hernandez as the opposing starter. All we can hope for is another big win and some losses for our counterparts residing further down the coast.