FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -Josh Beckett pitched two perfect innings in his first outing since struggling in the playoffs with a strained side muscle, and a Boston Red Sox split squad beat Boston College 7-1 Wednesday.
The right-hander struck out two and didn’t allow a ball out of the infield in the Red Sox first spring training game. They had another split-squad game scheduled against Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Beckett’s first playoff start last year was pushed back four days to give his injury extra time to heal. Then he had the worst outing of his 10 career postseason starts as Boston lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Angels in 12 innings.
He also hurt his back in last year’s spring training camp and had elbow problems during the season.
In Wednesday’s 6 1/2-inning game, Beckett threw 22 pitches, 15 for strikes, before BC, which is 0-19 in the series, took a rare lead when Mike Belfiore singled in a run in the fourth inning off Kris Johnson.
The Red Sox had one hit through four, a double by Nick Green, then scored six runs on six hits in the fifth on a two-run double by Angel Chavez, an RBI double by Yamaico Navarro and a three-run double by Chris Carter. Navarro homered in the sixth.
Notes: Right-hander Junichi Tazawa retired the three batters he faced on four pitches and got the win. Tazawa, 22, signed with Boston on Dec. 11 after playing only amateur baseball in Japan. … Daisuke Matsuzaka, training in Japan for the World Baseball Classic, allowed five hits and two runs, both earned, and struck out three in 1 2-3 innings of an 11-2 tuneup win over Australia. Boston manager Terry Francona said the Red Sox have been getting regular updates on his training. … Rocco Baldelli is scheduled to be the designated hitter against his former team, Tampa Bay, in a road game Friday. Against BC, he played left field and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. … DH David Ortiz hit a 3-2 pitch deep to center field that was caught just in front of the fence in the third. … Eno Guerrero, who throws batting practice for the Red Sox, drew a walk in the fifth while pinch hitting for Ortiz. Guerrero, 48, is friends with Ortiz and Manny Ramirez and stayed with the team after Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last July 31.
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