Beckett pitches 3-hitter to end strong 1st half

[July 13, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- Josh Beckett capped a brilliant first half of the season with a three-hitter, joining teammate Tim Wakefield as the only 11-game winners in the AL as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 Sunday.

Beckett (11-3) retired the first nine batters, five on strikeouts, and picked up his 100th career victory. It was his second shutout and complete game of the season following his 3-0 win over Atlanta on June 20.

He finished with seven strikeouts and no walks and threw just 94 pitches. It was a fitting end to a stretch in which he went 9-1 with a 2.14 ERA after struggling at 2-2 with a 7.22 ERA through April.

Beckett allowed a ground-ball double down the right-field line to David DeJesus leading off the fourth and singles by Mitch Maier and Mark Teahen in the seventh.

Rookie Aaron Bates, called up last Monday, went 3 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI, and stabbed a line drive by Brayan Pena for the second out of the fifth.

Bruce Chen (0-4) and five Royals relievers walked nine batters.

Boston scored a run in the first on Kevin Youkilis' RBI single and three in the fourth when Bates bashed a run-scoring double, David Ortiz grounded out for another RBI and Jason Varitek walked with the bases loaded.

The fifth run came across in the fifth when Nick Green, who had walked and taken third on a single by Bates, scored on Jacoby Ellsbury's double-play grounder. Rocco Baldelli doubled in the final run in the eighth.

Beckett and Wakefield, also 11-3, will represent the Red Sox along with closer Jonathan Papelbon, left fielder Jason Bay and Youkilis in the All-Star game Tuesday in St. Louis. AL starting second baseman Dustin Pedroia withdrew Sunday to be with his wife, who has had complications with her pregnancy.

The Red Sox won four of their last five games to improve to 54-34, their fifth-best record at the All-Star break since 1954. They've held at least a share of first place in the AL East since June 9. Kansas City lost for the fourth time in five games -- including a 1-0 loss to Boston on Friday -- and fell 14 games below .500.

Beckett allowed two runs or less for the ninth time in 11 starts and is 6-0 in nine home starts this year.

He began the game by striking out DeJesus and Maier and retiring Billy Butler on a fly to left. He started the second with two more strikeouts, against Teahen and Jose Guillen, then got Pena on an infield popup. In the third, he struck out John Buck.

After DeJesus doubled in the fourth, Maier sacrificed him to third but he was stranded. Beckett then retired all six batters in the fifth and sixth on 17 pitches.

He had his most trouble in the seventh when Maier led off with a single. Butler struck out, but Teahen singled Maier to third and Guillen was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Beckett escaped the jam by getting Pena to ground to second baseman Pedroia, who started a double play.

NOTES: Bay walked on his first three at bats on the minimum of 12 pitches then was hit by pitches on his other two at bats. ... Red Sox starters have allowed three runs or less in each of the last six games. ... Chen pitched in just his fourth game in the majors since undergoing elbow surgery in the Fall of 2007. ... Ellsbury became the second Red Sox player with at least 40 stolen bases in two or more seasons. Tris Speaker did it there times from 1912-14.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD ULMAN]

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