While the Boston Red Sox rallied back to beat the Minnesota Twins in their Grapefruit League home opener this afternoon and tie the Mayor’s Cup up at 1-1, that wasn’t the biggest news of the day. The big story of the day was the fact that Josh Beckett was hit by a ball in the head during batting practice.
It was first announced that everything was okie dokie with Beckett but he was later sent home from City of Palms Park with “mild concussion symptoms”. Skipper Terry Francona said that he wasn’t sure whether or not Beckett will make his next start on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“He’s got a headache,” Francona said. “He’s been evaluated already. We’ll get somebody to look at him tonight, and then, when he comes in [Tuesday], we’ll check on him again to see what level, if any, of a workout he could do — or should do.”
Hopefully Beckett will bounce back on Tuesday and everything will be back to normal for him.
Back to the game from today, it was Josh Reddick who provided the Red Sox with the win as it was his 2-run home run in the seventh that was the difference. Drew Sutton knocked in two runs in the 6th to jump start the comeback. David Ortiz added his first home run of the spring, a three-run shot, that was part of a 2-for-2 afternoon.
Jason Varitek was 2-for-2 while Carl Crawford made his Red Sox spring debut and went 0-for-3.
Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Red Sox and showed some good life on his fastball. He allowed one run on one hit (solo home run by Jason Kubel). Tim Wakefield was the victim of a Brent Dlugach error and allowed three runs (none earned) on three hits and walk over two innings. Daniel Bard wasn’t particularly sharp as he was rocked for two runs on three hits in an inning.
Andrew Miller was impressive in his Red Sox spring debut and maybe the scenery change could just be what he needed. He struck out the first two batters he faced on six pitches and then needed just one pitch to retire his final batter. Michael Bowden picked up the win and Matt Albers got the save.
For the third straight day, the Red Sox and Twins will meet, this time across town at Hammond Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Jon Lester will start for the Red Sox while Jonathan Papelbon and Alfredo Aceves are among the pitchers scheduled to work tomorrow.
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Pregame notes: Beckett update, Jenks to pitch Thursday [Clubhouse Insider]
Francona on Beckett: ‘He’ll be all right. He’s got a hard head’ [Clubhouse Insider]
Ortiz homers, Miller dazzles in Red Sox’ 7-6 win vs. Twins [Clubhouse Insider]
Crawford settles into the Red Sox spotlight [CSNNE.com]
Matzuzaka happy with ‘a very good job’ in first outing [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Miller impresses Francona with strong inning [CSNNE.com]
Ortiz a Celtic? [ESPN Boston]
Jenks will make spring debut Thursday [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox showcase top 3 spots in lineup [ESPN Boston]
Dice-K pleased with first spring outing [ESPN Boston]
On Buchholz, BABIP and open minds [Extra Bases]
Francona and Crawford together again [Extra Bases]
Wrapping up the day in Fort Myers [Extra Bases]
The new media guides are here! [Extra Bases]
Late morning Red Sox notes: The journey from Taiwan Cup to Mayor’s Cup for Terry Francona, Carl Crawford [Full Count]
Red Sox options with Hideki Okajima could include minors [Full Count]
It was the day Carl Crawford became a Boston Red Sox (sort of) [Full Count]
Like buddy Ben Zobrist, Drew Sutton looking to stick as a utility guy [Projo Sox Blog]
Photo credit: AP Photo
