Boston Red Sox : News and Notes 07/25/06

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Josh Beckett wasn't dominant, but he still pitched very well and became the first 13 game winner in the majors. He allowed just 1 homerun in 6 innings in a 7-3 win for the Boston Red Sox over the Oakland A's. Beckett allowed 3 earned runs with Craig Hansen, Mike Timlin, and Jonathan Papelbon each pitching in a scoreless inning. Beckett is now 13-5 on the year with a 4.77 ERA.

Alex Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz all homered off of A's starter, Barry Zito. After a disasterous start to the year that saw him batting .219 as late as June 5, Gonzalez has turned things around and is playing like one of the best shortstops in the game. He hit .352/.361/.535 in June and is hitting .297/.343/.516 in July. Those numbers, combined with gold glove caliber defense, put Gonzalez amongst the game's elite. The homer was the 8th of the year and he's batting .276/.294/.393. Ramirez's homer, a 3 run shot, was his 27th and Ortiz's was his 34th.

David Wells and Keith Foulke combined to work 7 innings in a simulated game yesterday and both were happy with their results. Wells still will not talk to the media, but manager Terry Francona said that Wells looked good. He appeared to tire as the "game" went on, but his stuff and command were there. It's possible that Wells will return to the team very soon without pitching a rehab game in the minors. Foulke said that his velocity was there, even though his command was lacking. He was happy with the results and although the batters were making contact, there was very little solid contact made.

The Red Sox will take advantage of their off day on Thursday to skip Kason Gabbard's spot in the rotation. The rest of the rotation will go on normal rest with Jon Lester scheduled to open up the homestand against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. The team does not intend to use Gabbard in relief as they don't want to disrupt the rythm of a rookie pitcher with 4 arm surgeries in his medical history.