Josh Hamilton was the first to learn, firsthand, that Josh Beckett has seemingly bounced back from the elbow issue he had in August. Hamilton had worked the count to two balls and two strikes in the first inning of the Texas-Boston game Friday when Beckett whipped a two-seam fastball that first headed at Hamilton's hip -- before veering over the inside corner of the plate. Hamilton never moved. Strike three.
An inning later, Beckett spun a curveball to
Gerald Laird, a breaking ball at which Laird swung awkwardly, unsuccessfully. Strike three. In the fourth inning, Beckett fired a fastball, with some serious east-west movement, that
Hank Blalock swung through. Strike three. Red Sox Nation may have been watching this outing with trepidation, but Beckett took the suspense out of it, breezing along as if he was throwing live batting practice.
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Buster Olney
