Two milestones occurred last night at Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1 in another hot game in Boston.
Red Sox (61-37) manager Terry Francona notched his 1000th career win (715 with Boston) while the Mariners (43-57) tied a franchise record with their 14th straight loss.
If you were lucky enough to be in Vegas or some underground gambling ring, having Josh Beckett (9-3) face MLB's worst lineup was one of the biggest layups of the season. The big Texan delivered of course, going seven innings and allowing one earned run on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to a sick 2.07.
Seattle rookie pitcher Blake Beaven gave his team a chance to win (6.2 innings, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts) but what can you expect from a batting order that has Brendan Ryan hitting second and Adam Kennedy in the five spot?
It was scoreless until the seventh when Mariners left fielder Mike Carp hit a homer (this time a solo shot) for a 1-0 Seattle lead.
The Red Sox quickly responded in the home half of the frame as Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits) hit a two-run single and then later scored on a wild pitch by Aaron Laffey.
Daniel Bard loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth but then he remembered who he was facing and he wiggled out of it without allowing a run. It was his 24th hold of the season and extended his scoreless streak to two months (last time he gave up an earned run was May 23-the night Tim Thomas robbed Tampa Bay's Steve Downie with the paddle of his stick).
Jonathan Papelbon gave up a hit but also got a strikeout in the ninth for his 23rd save in 24 chances.
Tim Wakefield faces Mariners star rookie Michael Pineda this afternoon as Boston looks to keep the good times rolling (up 3 games now on the Yankees in the AL East) and also kick Seattle out of town with an unsightly 15-game losing streak.
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