Exhibition roundup: Beckett looks good in debut

Josh Beckett was relieved after two perfect innings during which he struck out two and needed just 22 pitches to record six outs. AP

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- Josh Beckett is healthy again and poised to reclaim his spot as the ace of the Boston Red Sox.

Injuries to his back, elbow and side kept him from keeping that job last year.

The right-hander pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts Wednesday in his first spring training outing and said he felt fine after a Red Sox split squad beat Boston College 7-1 in a seven-inning game.

"I was actually just having a conversation with David Ortiz about that," Beckett said. "It's a lot easier to focus on what you're trying to do when you're not dealing with those little nagging things that end up being exterior distractions."

Ortiz had distractions last season when a wrist injury diminished his power and production, limiting him to 23 homers and 89 RBIs -- all lows for his six seasons with Boston.

In his second at-bat Wednesday, Ortiz lifted a 3-2 pitch to deep center field that Robbie Anston caught near the fence.

Beckett was baseball's only 20-game winner in 2007, going 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA. But last year he hurt his back while warming up for his first spring training game against a major league team, the Florida Marlins, and didn't face a batter in the exhibition season.

"I definitely thought about it," said Beckett, who didn't allow a ball out of the infield. "It was like, 'Oh, is this going to happen again?'"

Then he skipped Boston's trip to Japan that included two regular-season games.

"It would be nice to keep him out there for a bunch of starts," manager Terry Francona said before leaving for another split-squad game, at the Minnesota Twins. "He's important to us. There's no getting around that. We want him to lead our staff. We've told him that. I think he's at a point in his career where he relishes that and he deserves it."

Beckett, the MVP of the 2003 World Series with Florida, didn't make his first regular-season start until the seventh game last year. He was healthy until an inflamed right elbow sent him to the disabled list from Aug. 18 to Sept. 5.

He pitched well the rest of the season and was scheduled to start the team's playoff opener. But he strained his side in a bullpen session and his start was delayed until the third game against the Los Angeles Angels.

"He had so many momentum breakers last year," Francona said. "It was one thing after another and it was just hard for him to ever mount that streak where he could get real hot and get in a groove."

In other spring training games:

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 1
At Dunedin, Fla., Alex Rodriguez was able to put aside the steroids scandal -- for a little while.

Booed and taunted by opposing fans in the Yankees' spring training opener, Rodriguez homered and drew two walks in a victory over Toronto that was anything but routine.

Rodriguez then got into an SUV that, according to the New York Post's Web site, was driven by Yuri Sucart -- the person identified as the cousin who provided Rodriguez with performance-enhancing drugs.

Giants 10, Indians 7
At Goodyear, Ariz., Hall of Famer Bob Feller threw out the ceremonial first pitch and four F-16 fighter jets screamed by in a fly-over as the Cleveland Indians christened their new spring training home.

First baseman Travis Ishikawa homered twice, Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run shot and NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum worked one scoreless inning for the Giants.

Padres 4, Mariners 3, 10 innings
At Peoria, Ariz., Jake Peavy breezed through a scoreless inning for San Diego in a tuneup for the World Baseball Classic.

Mets 9, Orioles 3
At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Luis Castillo looked more like a cleanup hitter than a leadoff man. In his new role atop the Mets' lineup, Castillo drove in four runs with a single and a double, and New York got three RBIs from Ryan Church.

Marlins 5, Cardinals 5, 10 innings
At Jupiter, Fla., Hanley Ramirez embraced his move to the third spot in the order, hitting a two-run homer for Florida, which committed four errors.

Astros 6, Nationals 3
At Kissimmee, Fla., Mike Hampton escaped a bases-loaded, none-out jam and worked two scoreless innings in his first outing for Houston since 1999.

Tigers 5, Braves 4
At Lakeland, Fla., Justin Verlander staked an early claim to regain his role as Detroit's ace, throwing two shutout innings.

Pirates 8, Phillies 2
At Bradenton, Fla., Jamie Moyer pitched two scoreless innings, but the World Series champions lost their spring training opener.

Reds 7, Rays 0
At Port Charlotte, Fla., Carlos Hernandez faced major league hitters for the first time in three years and tossed two hitless innings for the AL champs, who opened their new park after moving their spring training headquarters downstate from St. Petersburg.

Angels 12, White Sox 3
At Tempe, Ariz., Mike Napoli hit a two-run double for Los Angeles. The game drew 2,246 fans at Tempe Diablo Stadium, which has a capacity of 9,558.

Cubs 5, Dodgers 3
At Mesa, Ariz., Micah Hoffpauir hit a grand slam for Chicago.

Brewers 3, Athletics 3, 10 innings
At Phoenix, Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his first appearance with Milwaukee. Corey Hart homered, singled and stole a base for the Brewers.

Rangers 12, Royals 7
At Surprise, Ariz., Josh Hamilton, Hank Blalock and Nelson Cruz homered for Texas. Kris Benson, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006, allowed one run and two hits in two crisp innings.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3
At Tucson, Ariz., Aaron Cook threw two scoreless innings for Colorado in front of a crowd of 3,327, less than half the capacity for Hi Corbett Field.

Twins 5, Red Sox 2
At Fort Myers, Fla., Glen Perkins pitched two shutout innings to help Minnesota beat Tim Wakefield and a Boston split squad.

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