Josh Beckett Completely Shuts Down The Angels.. Boston Red Sox 4 LA Angels 0

Josh Beckett threw a complete game four hit shutout and the Boston Red Sox beat the visiting LA Angels 4-0 in game 1 of the ALDS. An astounding 83 of his 108 pitches were strikes, and Beckett has now thrown shutouts in 3 of his past 4 playoff games. Here is what Tito and Josh himself said.....

"Josh went out there and executed his pitches, in my opinion, probably better than he has at any point in the season," manager Terry Francona said. "He attacked the strike zone with all his pitches. Cut his fastball at times. He pounded the strike zone with three great pitches. That was a great performance."
"I had a really good sinker today," Beckett said.

It was nice to see the Red Sox field their "A" lineup, with Youk batting second and Manny back in the cleanup spot. The only run the Red Sox would need came on a Kevin Youkilis home run in the first inning. Big Papi David Ortiz added a 2 run shot in the third, and Beckett took care of everything else. He was brilliant. The Red Sox take a 1-0 lead in this best of five series, and in a short series like this, the first game is a vital one. The two teams meet again on Friday, with Daisuke Matsuzaka ready to face Kelvim Escobar. Another win over the California team would be a crushing blow to them.....sounds good to me!

Click on the title of this post for the Hartford Courant's Jeff Jacobs' column on the dominance that was Josh Beckett on Wednesday night, a night filled with faith for the present and hope for the future. Have a great off-day Thursday, and root for Cleveland to sit on Wang's sinkers and drive them THROUGH the infield for base hits.