Ex-Sox conspire to burn Boston, Beckett

Baltimore 5, Big Papi 3
WP: Bedard (11-4)
LP: Beckett (13-5)
SV: Walker (4)
HRs: BOS-Papi, 2 (18); BAL-Roberts (9)

SUMMARY
Josh Beckett was not sharp from the get-go, allowing a homer on his first pitch of the game, and a trio of former Sox players had big contributions as the Os knocked off the Sox for just the 5th time in the teams' last 24 meetings.

#1 STUNNER Brian Roberts 2-5, 2R, 2BI, 2B, HR
The solid second baseman got the Birds off to a good start by plopping Beckett's first pitch of the game off the top of the padded wall in right, then doubled to plate Baltimore's second run in the 3rd.

PAN's FAUN Beckett 8IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 6K
The Cy Young is slowly slipping away for the All Star ace as he lost for the fourth time in his last six starts.

I wonder if it's just a coincidence that the two guys my son got autographs from on Sunday, Becks & Gabbard, had lousy days today?

RECAP
So this is how the Sox celebrate on of the biggest days in Boston sports history?

Following an afternoon filled with exciting announcements and arrivals as well as one bittersweet departure, Boston should have taken advantage of playing its first home game in a week and a sub-.500 squad and parlayed it into the start of another winning streak.

Instead all it got was a second consecutive disheartening loss and another shaky outing from onetime Cy Young shoo-in Josh Beckett, who has now dropped 5 of 9 decisions since opening the season 9-0.

The worst part of it all is that the loss unfolded slowly and deliberately, like a bad horror movie, and the carnage began in the very first scene.

Make that the very first line.

That's when Brian Roberts, who is quietly having another excellent season, ripped Beckett's first offering of the game down the right field line and off the top of the wall behind Pesky's Pole for a crowd-silencing solo shot mere minutes into the game.

Not that a one-run first inning deficit is anything to worry about, especially for an offensive juggernaut like Boston, but things only got worse after that.

In the bottom of the frame Julio Lugo (0-5) was robbed of a sure double on a diving catch by center fielder Corey Patterson, and even though the next two batters reached (Pedroia on an error by Miggy Tejada, Ortiz on a bloop single to center), the rally died when Manny popped out to second and Youk fanned to end the inning.

After both pitchers enjoyed 1-2-3 second innings, Baltimore commenced Act II of Beckett's fright night when it scored three runs in the third, an uprising sparked by former Boston player Jay Payton.

The disgruntled outfielder had a cup of coffee with the Sox in '05 but was quickly dealt when he groused over playing time, but he wasted no time jumping on Beckett's first pitch and ripped a one-out single to right.

Two pitches later Roberts laced a double off the base of the Wall to score Payton all the way from first, and after Roberts swiped third, Patterson walked and stole second, then old friend and longtime idiot Kevin Millar skidded a ball just past the sliding Lugo for a two-run single and a quick 4-0 Baltimore lead.

Told you it was a horror show.

At least Papi (3-4, 2R, 3RBI) provided some temporary relief when he launched a two-run bomb into the seats in right to cut the lead in half in the bottom of third, but the inning could have been even bigger if Lugo hadn't grounded into a double play immediately after Wily Mo led off the frame with a walk.

Bedard (6IP, 2H, 2ER, 5BB, 6K), who leads the majors in strikeouts and had won five consecutive starts coming in, worked his way out of another jam in the fourth.

Youk walked to lead off the inning, then after retiring Lowell on a fly out, Bedard hit Tek and then after wild pitching them both over a base, walked Coco to load the bases with one out.

But he buckled down and got Whiffy Mo to strike out, then after running the count full, froze Lugo on a pitch at the knees to escape the jame with the lead intact.

As usual that missed opp would come back to bite Boston in the nads when the Os tacked on another run in the sixth, this time without the aid of Roberts or an ex-Bosox.

Tejada got the rally started with an infield single that travelled roughly 20 feet, and after former D-Ray Audrey Huff singled him over to second, catcher Ramon Hernandez doubled Miggy home with a drive that landed just over the outstretched glove of Manny and ricocheted back towards the infield, and Baltimore's lead was now 5-2 with four more innings to go.

Bedard came out after the sixth in favor of another D-Ray castoff, Rob Bell, who after tossing a 1-2-3 seventh promptly surrendered a laser shot by Papi into the Boston bullpen to lead off the eighth and was immediately replaced by former Sox reliever Chad Bradford.

For the third time tonight Boston was done in by an ex-castmate when Bradford retired Manny (foul out), Youk (ground out) and Lowell (ground out) to escape the inning unscathed, and although he couldn't close the deal after he surrendered a one-out single to Coco in the 9th, temporary closer Jamie Walker got Lugo to ground into a fielder's choice and Pedroia to tap back to the mound to end it, and a day of celebrating in Beantown ended with a night of frustration and misery courtesy of a bunch of former friends.

Can't wait to see what happens when Gabbard comes back to town.

Luckily we won't have to worry about that till next year.

NOTES:

• Papi not only notched three of Boston's paltry four hits, but he also had his 26th multi-homer game of his career, his first this season since April 8th in Texas
• According to ESPN.com, Beckett went on an expletive-filled tirade following the game and took out some of his frustrations on a water cooler
• Agressive Os: out of the first 20 batters, half of them swung at the first pitch
• Bullpen flux: not only was Gagne not in town yet, but Mike Timlin was dealing with a sore shoulder and Boston announced that disabled reliever Brendan Donnelly will have to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery
• No support: after averaging 8+ runs/game of support for most of the season, Boston batters have totalled just 16 runs in Beckett's last four starts, and that includes a 10-run effort against the White Sox
• The Orioles tallied 10 hits, 9 off Beckett and 1 on Manny D., who gave up a walk and a single before being replaced by Javier Lopez in the 9th
• Lousy Lugo: on top of the 0-fer he misplayed the single by Millar and muffed a grounder to deep short by Payton that was ruled a hit in the fifth. Oh and he was nearly tossed after arguing his strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth (in his defense, it was ball 4)
• Bedard was said to be suffering from dehydration cramps for much of the game

QUOTES:

"He might be the best pitcher in baseball right now." --Baltimore pitching coach Leo Mazzone on Bedard

RECORD: 64-42
AL EAST: Up 7
STREAK: L-2
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Wed vs. BAL 705