BOSTON (AP) -The first three Colorado Rockies he faced fanned on nearly identical pitches: 97 mph fastballs on the corner that might as well have been traveling 197. A few degrees colder, a little less rain and some of those baseballs flying out of Josh Beckett’s right hand might have left vapor trails.
Then he slowed down.
His fourth K, opening the second inning, featured his first curveball. By the time Beckett claimed victim No. 5, just six batters in, his fastball was already down to 96 mph. He managed only four more strikeouts in five more innings of work, never threatening Bob Gibson’s postseason record of 17 against the Tigers almost 40 years ago.
But give the man time. He is still learning how to pitch.
“He was as advertised,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said after Boston crushed Colorado 13-1 in the World Series opener Wednesday night. “We’ve seen it before. We saw more of it tonight.”
There is no way to start a discussion of this October without Beckett’s name at the top.
His numbers already rival those of the power-pitching heroes of postseasons past – Gibson, Sandy Koufax, even teammate Curt Schilling – but Beckett is not cut from any old-school mold.
He’s all attitude and coiled menace, a perfect ‘Mr. October’ for a new generation. These same Rockies rolled into Fenway during interleague play in late June, mugged him for 10 hits and six runs in just five innings and snapped his string of nine straight wins. Considering Beckett’s mastery of that same lineup this time around, you expected him to study the tape of that game until his eyeballs ached, looking for something to change.
“Not one time, no,” Beckett said. “I try not to harp on negative things. Obviously, that’s not a start that I want to go back and replay in my mind. I just kind of go with my strengths and execute those.”
The 23-year-old kid who vanquished the Yankees as a member of the Marlins in Game 7 of the 2003 World Series has lost none of his bravado.
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