The Red Sox offense was held in check for a second straight game, but with no late savior arriving this time, the Sox fell 6-1 to the Blue Jays.
Unlike Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett wasn't up to the task of competing in a pitchers' duel. After a leadoff strikeout, Beckett quickly allowed a triple to Colby Rasmus. A ground ball to Will Middlebrooks actually should have saved a run as the third baseman fired home and Kelly Shoppach threw down an excellent block at the plate, keeping Rasmus from ever making contact. Unfortunately, the umpire did not see it the same way, calling him safe and giving the Jays an undeserved run.
Still, Beckett would not have been able to hold the runs out either way. A pair of ground ball singles came before the next out, bringing the runner in from first who would have been there either way. After a bottom of the first which involved only an infield single off of Aaron Laffey, Boston's starter quickly found himself in trouble again. A leadoff double was nearly kept away from home after a ground ball and a strikeout, but Beckett walked Anthony Gose after getting ahead 0-2, and then surrendered a two-run double into the gap in left.
Beckett would finally settle down after finding himself in a 4-0 hole, but things didn't get much better for the Sox against Laffey. Picking up only singles, and never clumping more than two in an inning, Laffey would escape inning after inning without giving up a run. Beckett provided scoreless innings into the fifth, when an error cost him an unearned one, eventually pitching through the sixth. Had it not been for the unearned run and umpire-given run, he actually would've left with a quality start.
No matter how well he pitched, however, the Sox weren't going to back him up with anything. Laffey would complete seven scoreless--the second straight night a starter has done that to the team. Mark Melancon would end up finally surrendering another run in the ninth after pitching a scoreless eighth, and while the Red Sox managed to push one across in the ninth, it was just the one, leaving it 6-1 Blue Jays at the end of the night.
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