Josh Beckett walked two, struck out six, and gave up a home run in 6 1/3 innings of work Thursday night. That should be an effective outing. Instead, seven hits led to six runs as Josh’s ERA rose to 6.67. That’s been Beckett’s whole season. His home runs are a bit high, but his walks and strikeouts are good. His FIP is about two runs lower than his ERA, a huge difference. That’s probably the one thing that’s making the Red Sox front office not regret the contract they signed. They can chalk this season up to bad luck and injuries, and hope that next year he returns to form. His FIP is still in the mid fours, however, as is John Lackey‘s ERA. I’m not sure that’s what they had in mind long term when they signed both. It means they’ll need to keep the offense high to support them if they don’t pitch better.

The Angles win 7-2 as Hideki Matusi hit a three-run homer off Beckett.