Al DeMarco Wednesday's Play 5 Dime - Boston (Beckett) - 1 1/2 Runs over Detroit (Galarrago)
Boston did not win Josh Beckett's last outing, falling to the Yankees in New York in 15 innings last Friday, but the righthander can't be faulted after throwing seven innings of shutout ball for the second straight start, lowering his earned run average on the season to 3.12. That figure is even lower at Fenway, where Beckett has been unbeatable, going 7-0 with a 2.58 ERA, winning five straight starts while compiling a 1.19 ERA since the start of June.
Beckett, who is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers, won at Detroit on June 3, allowing three unearned runs and two hits over 7.2 innings in which he also fanned nine batters. In that contest he not only had a no-hitter through 6.2 innings, but he beat tonight's mound opponent, Armando Galarraga, who carries a 5.23 ERA into the rematch.
Galarraga started the season strong but has since struggled, having gone 0-3 in five starts before beating Minnesota in his last outing. But in that win against the Twins, the second-year righthander needed 109 pitches to survive five innings. His ERA in his last five starts is 5.81 as he's allowed 48 baserunners in 30 innings.
The Red Sox have bounced back from their Big Apple nightmare with two straight wins in this series to run their record against Detroit to 5-0 on the season while improving to 37-17 at Fenway this year.
With the Tigers losing 15 of their last 20 on the road over the past six weeks, Beckett is at an extremely attractive price because of my willingness to lay the 1 1/2 runs in this spot.