The long-awaited return of Josh Beckett may finally be here. After allowing three runs in four innings for Pawtucket in a rehab start Saturday night, Beckett is scheduled to make a start for the Red Sox Friday night in Seattle, assuming all goes well with his side session on Tuesday. Beckett has not pitched since May 18.
"As far as the build-up and stuff, I think I'm where I need to be," Beckett said after the Red Sox' 4-2 loss to the Rangers Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. "Obviously, I can't make that decision all by myself. We'll just have to see where it goes from there. As far as I'm concerned, yeah, I'm ready to start on Friday, but it's not the be-all, end-all."
Certainly, the team will be careful with their ace if he does take to the hill Friday night. And so will Beckett.
"That's something that we've discussed. But like I said, and I told them, from my standpoint as far as the buildup goes, I felt like ... you know, I threw 80 pitches yesterday and I felt like I still had gas in the tank. Obviously, we're building up. You don't want to push the envelope too much."