Haren Outduels Beckett, Youkilis Suffers Black Eye

Josh Beckett was a tough luck loser yet again as the Sox provided him no run support in a 2-1 loss. Beckett struck out eight in eight innings, allowing just two runs on five hits and two walks. Beckett was in dominant form, but he was up against Arizona’s No. 2 starter, Dan Haren, who dazzled the Red Sox over seven shutout innings. So what does this all have to do with a black eye on Kevin Youkilis?

In a freak occurance, normally sure-handed first baseman Kevin Youkilis was fielding an infield throw from Mike Lowell that bounced in the dirt and took a wierd angle right into Youk’s face. The ball struck Youk’s right eye and he was forced to leave the game with a black eye. In a strange coincidence, Sean Casey dropped the appeal of his three-game suspension the same day so he was not available. Enter Brandon Moss for his major league debut at first base. He should stick to the outfield.

Sox Stud of the Game:

Could it be? a Sox Stud with zero hits? Well, when you score just one run, you have to give the man that produced that run the credit. J.D. Drew got his RBI with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to bring the Sox within a run, and that’s all they would score all game.

Diamond Dud of the Game:

In all, no one in the Red Sox lineup had more than one hit and three (Manny Ramirez, Brandon Moss, and Coco Crisp) did not reach base (four if you count Youk’s one at bat). A pretty poor performance for a strong offense, but Dan Haren is a really good pitcher so a good game from him has to be expected.

Game Notes:

• Curt Schilling had what his doctor deemed has very successful surgery. He’s out for the year and may be out for his career.
• There was another rain delay at the start of the game. There could be one for Tuesday’s game due to forecasts of pop-up thunderstorms.

Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Dan Haren, J.D. Drew, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Red Sox, Sean Casey

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