Boston Red Sox 2 Minnesota Twins 1

The Boston Red Sox, led by their ace, Josh Beckett, defeated the Minnesota Twins 2-1 in their very first spring training game against a major league club. Becks threw 27 pitches in two innings, gave up the Twinkies' solo run and allowed two hits while striking out one. Great start, Josh. He was followed by six relievers who blanked the club from Minnesota the rest of the way. Dustin "Pedey" Pedroia had this to say about Beckett...

“We all look to Josh as a guy that carries us,’’ Dustin Pedroia said. “He does that. He goes out every start and attacks, and that’s kind of our team’s mentality. His role on this team doesn’t change just because we’ve got another ace (Lackey, Lester). He’s still the man. He still goes out there and does what he does. His attitude and the way he carries himself, it’s pretty special.’’

It sure is, Pedey. Here's the youngest guy in the Red Sox rotation, someone with unlimited promise, Mr. Clay Buchholz...

“For us, Josh, he’s the one that likes to go out there with all the weight on his shoulders and beat the best teams and beat the best guys,’’ Buchholz said. “It’s seemed, since I’ve been up the last couple years, that every time that Josh is going well, it seems like everybody else feeds off of him. That’s what you get whenever you have that label as an ace. It’s seemed, since I’ve been up the last couple years, that every time that Josh is going well, it seems like everybody else feeds off of him."

So Boston has won their first three Florida games but the first two don't count...they were playing college teams. They play the Twins again today in Ft. Myers at 1:05pm EST. Lester will make the start with the inevitable procession of relievers to follow. That's the way it goes early in March. Josh Beckett must have a great year, as well as the other members of the six man (5 1/2?) rotation. I have confidence in everyone except, at least for right now, Daisuke Matsuzaka. I hope he can regain his health and have the kind of season he did two years ago.

Here is the entire radio and TV schedule for the games of spring...

March 4, Minnesota, 7:05 (WEEI)
March 6, Twins (SS), 1:05 (WEEI)
March 7, at Baltimore, 1:05 (WEEI)
March 10, Tampa Bay, 1:05 (WEEI)
March 13 , Pittsburgh, 1:05 (WEEI, NESN)
March 14 at Minnesota, 1:10 (NESN, WRKO)
March 16, at Tampa Bay, (SS), 7:05 (WEEI)
March 17, Mets, 1:05 (WEEI, NESN)
March 20 , Baltimore, 1:05 (NESN, WEEI)
March 21, Houston Astros (SS), 1:05 (NESN, WEEI)
March 23, Minnesota, 7:10 (WEEI)
March 27, at Baltimore, 1:05 (WEEI)
March 28, Minnesota, 1:05 (NESN, WEEI)
March 29, Tampa Bay, 7:05 (NESN, WEEI)
March 30, at Tampa Bay, 1:05 (ESPN)
April 1, Minnesota, 1:05 (ESPN)
April 3, at Washington (Nationals Park), 4:05 (WEEI)

I hope you have a terrific Friday. Click on this post's title to be zapped to the Boston Globe's Red Sox home page and as always, BE WELL. Live long and prosper, as Spock would say. Logical.