What adjectives can use to describe the pitching of Josh Beckett? Exceptional, dominant, overpowering, masterful, precise. What ever words you choose it just doesn’t convey what you just saw. In a jaw dropping performance the AL Cy Young Award candidate was everyone of those adjectives and more as he destroyed hitter after hitter in the Colorado line up as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 13-1 win to take a 1-0 series lead. Beckett went 7 innings giving up 1 earned run on 6 hits with 1 walk and striking out 9 while improving to 6-2 in the post season for his career.
As good as Beckett was the Red Sox lineup was just as good as 8 of the 9 starters had at least one hit, one run scored and one RBI on their way to tying a World Series record for extra base hits with 8 doubles and a home run. They were led by David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Julio Lugo who each had 3 hits and 2 RBI apiece from Ortiz, Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Varitek and JD Drew.
When a team as hot as the Colorado Rockies has been off for nearly a week and half since their last game what do you feed them? Well in the first inning it was nothing but cheese. Beckett, who has become an October force, ratcheted it up and threw nothing but fastballs to the first three Colorado hitters. Needless to say they were overmatched as Willy Taveras went down looking while Kaz Matsui and NL MVP candidate Matt Holliday went down hacking.
In the bottom of the first the Boston bats, which scored 30 runs in the last three games against Cleveland, came alive. 
Pedroia, the AL Rookie of the Year candidate, hit a lead off home run just into the Monster Seats in left field off of Colorado lefty Jeff Francis. It was Pedroia’s 2nd HR of the post season and he became the first rookie to lead off a World Series game with a HR. Kevin Youkilis followed it up with a ringing double to right center, Ortiz grounded out to Todd Helton at first to move Youkilis to third. On the first pitch Ramirez, the 2004 World Series MVP, ripped a single to left over a drawn in infield and it was 2-0 Boston. Mike Lowell flew out to center, Varitek singled to left to move Ramirez to second and then Drew drilled a double into the right field corner to plate Ramirez and it was 3-0. Lugo then grounded out third on a bang-bang play at first to end the inning.
Beckett started the second off right where he left off in the first as he overpowered Todd Helton for his fourth strike out. Garrett Atkins doubled high off the wall in left, but Brad Hawpe whiffed for Beckett’s 5th strikeout. NL Rookie of the Year 
candidate Troy Tulowitzki doubled to left center to score Atkins and cut the lead to 3-1 but Beckett came back to get Yorvit Torrealba to ground out to Lugo.
The Sox came back at Francis and the Rockies in the second. With two out Youkilis worked a walk and Ortiz doubled into the left centerfield gap to bring Youkilis all the way around from first to score as Tulowitzki’s relay to the plate was late and it was 4-1 Red Sox. Colorado manager Clint Hurdle decided to intentionally walk Ramirez and with runners at first and second Lowell popped out to Matsui to end the threat.
As the rain continued to fall at Fenway Beckett retired the Rockies in order in the third. In the fourth after a one out two bagger by Helton high off the wall in left center, Beckett buckled down and got Atkins to strike out on a nasty bender. Then he blew away Hawpe for the second time in the game with some cheddar and that was the end of the Rockies chances that inning.
Francis was able to work through the third with just a two out bunt single by Lugo and in the fourth after two quick outs it got rather sticky for Francis and Colorado. Ortiz singled to left, Ramirez doubled to right center and Hurdle had Francis issue his second intentional walk of the night, this one to Lowell to load the bases. Varitek didn’t disappoint the Fenway faithful as he drilled a ground rule double down the left field line to score Ortiz and Ramirez with a pair of runs and a 6-1 Boston lead. Drew then struck out to end the inning and Francis who was near 100 pitches was done for the night. He went only 4 innings giving up 6 runs all earned on 10 hits (6 for extra bases), walked 3 and struck out 3.
Beckett with two out in the fourth walked just his second hitter of the post season when he issued a free pass to Ryan Spilborghs. While the walk is charged to Beckett were going to give home plate umpire Ed Montague an assist as there were two pitches that were good enough to ring up Spilborghs. Beckett then got Taveras to pop out to Pedroia to end the inning.
With lefty Franklin Morales now pitching Lugo singled to center, Jacoby Ellsbury tried to sacrifice him to second but failed as Morales fielded the ball and threw a strike to Tulowitzki covering second for the out. Pedroia then popped out to short and with Youkilis hitting Morales balked Ellsbury to second. Youkilis then made him pay by lacing a double down the left 
line to score Ellsbury and it was 7-1 Boston. Ortiz followed with his second RBI double to center of the night to score Youkilis for the 3rd time and it was 8-1. Ramirez flared a single to center over the leaping Tulowitzki for his third hit of the night and 2nd RBI to plate Ortiz for a 9-1 Red Sox bulge. Lowell ripped a double into the left field corner, it was the 9th extra base hit for Sox on the night and that tied a World Series record set in 1929 for most extra base hits in World Series game. Varitek walked to load the bases and Drew singled up the middle off of the glove of a diving Tulowitzki to score Ramirez for his 2nd RBI of the game and it was 10-1 and the end of Morales. Ryan Speier came in and walked Lugo, the 10th man of the inning to bat, to force in a run and it was 11-1 Boston. Ellsbury walked on a 3-2 pitch to force home Varitek and it was 12-1. Pedroia walked and got his second RBI as Speier couldn’t find the plate and Drew scored the 13th run of the night (new team record for most runs in a World Series game) as Hurdle made his way to the mound to make a pitching change. Matt Herges came on and mercifully ended the inning by getting Youkilis to fly out to Hawpe in right. But the damage was done 7 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks as the Sox increased their lead to 13-1. The Sox scored eleven of the thirteen runs when there were two outs.
After a 34 minute wait Beckett gave up a lead off single in the 6th to Matsui but Holliday hit a scorcher at Pedroia who turned it into a pretty 4-6-3 twin killing. Helton then got his second hit of the night a single to center but Beckett got Atkins to fly out to Drew and the Rocks were gone.
Herges came back to the mound and worked a pretty easy 6th for Colorado allowing only a two out walk to Lowell.
The seventh started with Beckett strucking out Hawpe for the third time on the night. It was Beckett’s 9th and final strike out of the game. Tulowitzki followed with a ground rule double into the left field seats, for his second double of the game. Torrealba grounded out to Lugo to move Tulowitzki to 3rd but Spilborghs flew out to Coco Crisp, who replaced Ramirez in the lineup and went into center, to end the inning.
Jeremy Affeldt pitched the 7th for Colorado the former Kansas City Royal yielded just one hit. Mike Timlin replaced Beckett for the 8th and he got a pair of K’s in a 1-2-3 inning.
LaTroy Hawkins came on in the 8th he struck out Youkilis, Eric Hinske who pinch hit for Ortiz also whiffed and Crisp broke his bat on a ground out to short to end the inning.
Eric Gagne` came on in the 9th to wrap up the game for Boston. He got Helton and Atkins to fly out and then Hawpe struck out for the 4th time in 4 at bats to end a very long night for the Rockies.
Notes and Musings:
Colorado @ Boston World Series Game One Box Score
The Rockies lost for the first time in the post season they are 7-1. It is just the second time the Rockies have been in the post season since their inception in 1993.
The Red Sox are 4-2 all-time at Fenway Park vs. Colorado.
The Rockies had won 10 straight road games before tonight.
Colorado wore those ugly black vests as their uniform top. Teams with vests in my opinion need to ditch them. I’ve yet to see one that looks good.
This is Colorado’s first World Series appearance. The only teams left to have never been in a World Series are Tampa Bay and Washington (Montreal). They got here by winning the play in game against San Diego to get the wild card then swept Philadelphia in the NLDS and Arizona in the NLCS.
Boston is in it’s 11th World Series, 6th all-time behind the Yankees (39), Dodgers (18), Giants (17), Cardinals (17) and A’s (14). The Red Sox are 6-4 in their 10 previous trips to the Fall Classic. They got here by winning the AL East then sweeping Los Angeles in the ALDS and beating Cleveland in seven games in the ALCS.
The Red Sox are 21-12-1 at home in the World Series, 16-11-1 at Fenway Park. The 1903 World Series was played at the Huntington Ave Grounds and the 1915 Games were played at Braves Field. Since losing Game 4 of the 1986 World Series to the Mets the Sox have won the last four Series games played at Fenway.
Colorado is the 5th team to go from last place one season to the World Series the next. The others are the 1991 Atlanta Braves, 1991 Minnesota Twins, 1993 Philadelphia Phillies and the 1998 San Diego Padres.
With the Rockies in the World Series at least one wild card team has made the fall classic in the last six seasons.
This is Jeff Francis’ 3rd post season start of his career. Tonight he only went 4 innings giving up 6 runs, his playoff record 
is 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA. He had pitched once against Boston this season he went 5 shut out innings and gave up 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6 to get the win.
Francis post season ERA shot up from 2.13 to 4.86 after tonight’s game.
Francis is the second Canadian to start a World Series game. The other was Reggie Cleveland of the 1975 Boston Red Sox. His parents watched him get his ass kicked from a sportsbar in North Delta, British Columbia, Canada.
Josh Beckett is 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the 2007 post season. In his career he is 6-2 with a 1.73 ERA. He has won his last 5 post season starts while posting a 0.92 ERA. In his career against Colorado he is 5-1 with a 3.47 ERA.
Coming into the World Series the Rockies batting order is hitting just .242 in the post season and .283 with RISP. While their pitching has held their post season opponents to a .221 average while putting up a 2.08 ERA.
In 11 post season games Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have combined to reach base in 58 of 100 plate appearances.
Dustin Pedroia became the 32nd player to hit a HR in his first World Series at bat.
Tonight was Jason Varitek’s 50th post season game of his career, it’s the most in Red Sox history.
Josh Beckett struck out the first four Colorado batters he faced. It was a new record for strikeouts to start a World Series game and it was one shy of the World Series record for most strike outs in a row in a game, of five, held by Ward Cooper and Sandy Koufax.
FOX just loves the Boston Bullpen Band. They show them every chance they get maybe they can book them for that new show “The Next Great American Band” seeing as it’s on their network.
