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October 12, 2007
By SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON – If he’s not the staff ace, he’s on his way to becoming it. If he can’t quite match Curt Schilling for October heroics, that may only be a matter of time.
But one thing seems already certain about Josh Beckett – he’s the guy you want to start Game One of a postseason series.
Last week, Beckett blanked the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Game One of the Division Series with a complete-game shutout while the Sox scrapped together four runs against John Lackey.
Friday night, as the American League Championship Series got underway, it was more of the same. While the Red Sox bats were getting to C.C. Sabathia, Beckett was mowing down the Cleveland Indians for the first four innings, helping the Sox a one-sided 10-3 decision in the series opener.
Starting pitcher: Beckett.
Advantage? Red Sox.
''I think it’s always important [to set the tone],’’ said Beckett afterward, ''especially [when facing] someone like C.C.’s caliber. The first few innings become a little more important.’’
Beckett wasn’t perfect in the early inning. He was touched for a solo homer over the visitor’s bullpen by Travis Hafner, giving the Indians’ a short-lived lead. But Beckett struck out the other three hitters he faced that inning, then retired the next 10 hitters he faced.
''Whenever you get a couple of runs off a guy as tough as him,’’ said Beckett, ''I think it becomes a little important to get your guys back in the dugout, particularly on a cold night.’’
This was billed as an honest-to-goodness pitcher’s duel, the kind made special by the setting and the calendar, the kind you remember.
But only Beckett kept his appointment. Only Beckett pitched like an ace. Sabathia was gone before the fifth inning was complete, and when he trudged off the mound, the Cleveland Indians' chances to win last night’s ALCS opener went with him.
The prospect of a fourth shutout in seven postseason starts dissipated with Hafner’s homer, which was aided by the stiff autumn breeze. Last night, matched up with a far better lineup than the Angels, Beckett was merely very good – six innings pitched, two runs allowed on four hits.
Moreover, in between Hafner’s belt and Kenny Lofton’s slicing double with two out in the fifth, the Indians didn’t get the ball out of the infield against him. Cleveland’s turns at bat were short as Beckett methodically buzzed through the batting order, recording half of his first 12 outs by strikeout.
Later, with the game safely tucked away, Beckett became a bit sloppy. In the fifth and sixth innings, he allowed three hits, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and yielded another run. But because the Sox led 8-1 by that point, the run was just window dressing for the Indians.
''When you’re facing a guy like C.C., ‘’ said Terry Francona, ''you’d better have somebody you believe in, and we do, because you’re going to have to beat really good pitchers to keep moving on. We know that.’’
Beckett, of course, first hinted at his ability to win big games in 2003, when he shut out the Cubs in the NLCS and added to it when he won the World Series – on three days’ rest – at Yankee Stadium – also via shutout.
This fall, he’s cemented the title of new Mr. October. Days after his shutout of the Angles in the Division Series, teammates and scouts were still raving about his dominance. Schilling, an expert in such matters, called it the most dominant performance he had ever had the pleasure to witness and spoke of his motivation to match it.
And that – more than any pitching line or stat – speaks to how far Beckett has come. When the best postseason pitcher of his generation feels compelled to keep pace with you, you’ve officially arrived as an October force.
Friday night served as one more exclamation point, one more piece of evidence to be entered.
In the 1990s, the Indians rode a powerful lineup to five straight division titles and two American League pennants, but never captured an elusive championship because they lacked a bonafide No. 1 starter.
They tried old (Dennis Martinez, Orel Hershiser) and they tried young (Jaret Wright), but they never found a honest-to-goodness frontline starter, someone to match the opposition’s series opener.
This year, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Indians thought they might not one but two true aces, with Fausto Carmona, Saturday’s Game Two starter, capable of filling the role, too.
But Friday night, Sabathia was found wanting. If the Indians were looking for a Game One ace, he was in the other dugout, putting them in a familiar 0-1 hole.
Posted by Sean McAdam 
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