After last night’s big 8-1 win behind Josh Beckett at Tropicana Field it was important to come out and get another win especially with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the bump.

But a good effort by Matsuzaka was wasted, and it looked like a productive night by middle of the order was gone as well and once again the bullpen appeared to be the weak link in an apparent Boston loss. This time the victim was Javier Lopez who was called upon to get Carlos Pena with the game on the line in the 7^th inning.

With two outs in the 7^th and Matsuzaka over 100 pitches and tiring he gave up back-to-back walks to fellow countryman Akinori Iwamura and Jorge Velandia to put the tying run on base. This brought out Terry Francona who pulled Matsuzaka in favor of the lefty Lopez to face the dangerous Pena. Lopez got in front of Pena 0-2 but he worked the count to 3-2 and then hit a three run homerun to rightfield on a thigh high pitch middle in. It was his second homerun of the night and 42^nd of the year and just like that gave the Rays a 6-5 lead. Mike Timlin replaced Lopez and struck out B.J. Upton to put down the Rays one batter too late.

The Red Sox got on the board first when they actually manufactured a run in the third inning off of Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine. Coco Crisp reached on a bunt single to third despite a great try by Iwamura. Julio Lugo sacrificed Crisp to second and then rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury singled to center to score Crisp for his 15^th RBI and a 1-0 Sox lead.

The Sox tacked on a pair in the fourth inning when Mike Lowell got a lead off walk and he came all the way around from first to score standing up on a J.D. Drew double into the left centerfield gap for a 2-0 lead. Drew would score when Jason Varitek singled to right and it was 3-0 Sox.

Matsuzaka looked pretty comfortable through the first three innings, surrendering only a pair of singles, one each to Iwamura and Greg Norton and recording a pair of strikeouts on Pena and Velandia.

But the fourth inning would be a rough one for Matsuzaka. As he does so often, he seems to have one inning in each start when he looses his concentration or his command or both. Tonight it was the fourth. Pena hit his 41^st homerun of the year to lead off the inning and cut the lead to 3-1. With one out Delmon Young, Tampa’s rookie of the year candidate, singled to left and stole second and he came around to score on Norton’s RBI single to center and it was 3-2 Boston. But Matsuzaka would come back and get back-to-back strikeouts of Jonny Gomes and Dioner Navarro to end the threat and keep the Sox up by a run.

Matsuzaka regained his composure in the fifth getting a 1-2-3 inning that included his 5^th (Iwamura) and 6^th (Velandia) strikeouts of the night. It was also the second inning in a row he ended with back-to-back whiffs.

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UCONN’s defense forced 6 turnovers tonight, including of 4 interceptions of Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks, as they won their Big East opener 34-14 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Even though the stat sheet won’t show UCONN’s defense dominated (344 yards allowed), most of those yards came when the game really didn’t matter.

UCONN’s defense shut down Pittsburgh’s running game as they held their ground game to just 67 total yards. Pittsburgh’s freshman sensation LeSean McCoy rushed for 75 yards on 12 carries. On the offensive side of the ball for the Huskies, Tyler Lorenzen was 12 of 25 for 173 yards and Donald Brown II led the ground attack with 19 carries for 56 yards and one touchdown. Lou Allen added two touchdowns on the ground for the Huskies as well.

The Huskies took advantage of a Danny Lansanah interception of Pitt QB Kevan Smith in the first quarter, which gave them the ball at Pitt’s 7-yard line. After Brown got the ball down to the Pitt 1-yard line, Allen took it in on third down to put the Huskies up 7-0 after the Tony Ciaravino extra point.

After the UCONN defense forced a punt, they got the ball back at their own 16-yard line. UCONN drove the ball 75 yards, all but 9 yards came on the ground as Lorenzen completed a 9-yard pass to tight end Steve Brouse. The drive stalled out on the Pittsburgh 9-yard line and Ciaravino came in for a 26-yard field goal to put the Huskies up 10-0. Lorenzen had 24 of the yards, Brown had 19 yards, Allen had 4 yards and Andre Dixon had 3 yards.

Pittsburgh finally got on the board in the second quarter as McCoy put on a show. He started out the drive at his own 38-yard line with 18-yard halfback pass to Nate Byham. He then had rushes of 24 yards and 1 yard that gave the Panthers the ball at the UCONN 19. McCoy then took it in from the 19 and after a Conor Lee extra point the lead was 10-7 Huskies.

UCONN responded as Lorenzen and the passing game got on track. After Lorenzen was sacked for a 14-yard loss, he completed a 29-yard pass to D.J. Hernandez to put the Huskies at the Pitt 45. After Lorenzen rushed for 10 yards, he completed passes of 13 yards to Brad Kanuch and 6 yards to Terence Jeffers. After Brown was stuffed for no gain, Lorenzen hooked up with Hernandez for a 12 yard pass to get the ball at the Pitt 4-yard line. On 1st and goal, Brown took it in for a touchdown. Ciaravino’s extra point was good and UCONN led 17-7.

The Huskies forced Pittsburgh to go 3-and-out on their next possession. UCONN took advantage of this as they drove 69-yards for another touchdown. The drive was highlighted by Lorenzen as he went 3 for 3 for 53 yards. Allen took it in from the 1-yard line and Ciaravino’s extra point was good for a 24-7 Huskies lead.

UCONN wasn’t done scoring in the second quarter though as they forced a Smith fumble with 13 seconds left. UCONN took over at the Pitt 30-yard line. Lorenzen hooked up again with Hernandez for a 8-yard pass this time and then called timeout with 4 seconds left. Ciaravino came on and hit a 39-yard field goal to give the Huskies a commanding 27-7 lead at the half.

The third quarter was quiet on the scoreboard as neither team found the end zone.

Pitt forced UCONN to punt at the beginning of the 4th quarter and took over at their own 32. After Pat Bostick got them to their 49-yard line, they had 4th down and 4. Bostick dropped back to pass but Lawrence Wilson had dropped back in pass coverage and picked a Bostick pass off and took it to the house for a 49-yard interception run for a touchdown. Ciaravino’s extra point was good and UCONN led 34-7.

The Panthers scored a meaningless touchdown as the Huskies sat back on defense. The defense ended the game as Robert Vaughn picked off a Bostick pass in the end zone.

UCONN starts the season 4-0 for the first time since 1997, when they were a Division 1-AA team. They look to move to 5-0 on the season as they return home next Saturday to face the 2-2 Akron Zips. Kickoff is 12:00 PM at Rentschler Field.

Boxscore

As everyone knows 27-year old Josh Beckett became the first 20-game winner in the Major Leagues since 2005 when four pitchers turned the trick. He is the first 20-game winner for Boston since 2004 when Curt Schilling won 21-games in helping the Red Sox to their first World Championship since 1918.

This is Beckett’s first time winning 20 in his career and judging by the strides he has made in his two seasons pitching in Boston I’d say it probably is not his last either.

The Red Sox have had 27 different pitchers log 47 twenty plus win seasons since 1901. Beckett is obviously the most recent but Cy Young himself was the first to do it in 1901 when he won 33 games for the then-Boston Americans (the team changed it’s name to Red Sox in 1907). Young would win 32 games the following year but those 33 wins in ’01 aren’t the franchise high for victories in a single season. That honor goes to “Smokey” Joe Wood, who won 34-games in 1912 for the team that won a World Series.

Wood and Young are the only 30-game winners in franchise history.

Several pitchers who have won 20-plus games in a season have done it more than once. Young did it a remarkable six times on his way to a record 511 wins and having an award named after him on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Three men have done it three times for the Red Sox. Bill Dinneen did it in three straight seasons from 1902 to 1904, one of my favorite all-time players Luis Tiant did it in 1973, 1974 and again in 1976 and some guy named Roger Clemens accomplished the feat in 1986, 1987 and 1990.

Nine men have done it twice. Wood (1911, 1912), Babe Ruth (1916, 1917), Carl Mays (1917, 1918), Boo Ferris (1945, 1946), Jesse Tannehill (1904, 1905), Mel Parnell (1949, 1953), Tex Hughson (1942, 1946), Wes Farrell (1935, 1936) and Pedro Martinez (1999, 2002).

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A collective sigh of relief could be heard in New England last night as Josh Beckett got his 20th win of the season. Another cheer was heard later on when the Yankees lost to Toronto 5-4, allowing the Red Sox to up the lead in the AL East to 2 1/2 games. A playoff spot is all but assured as the magic number to reach the playoffs is 2. So all it takes now is a Red Sox win and a Tigers loss or any combination of that for the Sox to make the playoffs. Beckett was great after the first inning last night and the bullpen stepped it up. The combination of Beckett and three relievers retired the last 18 Devil Rays faced. Mike Lowell added his 20th home run as well. It’s almost ironic that Lowell got his 20th homer on the same night his friend and teammate got his 20th win. Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the hill for the Red Sox tonight looking to build momentum for himself as the Sox prepare for the playoffs. But before he does, let’s take a look at the headlines and happenings from last night’s game from the Boston and Tampa area media.

20 is something [Boston Globe]

Rays Can’t Solve Beckett [Tampa Tribune]

Something to celebrate [Boston Herald]

Rays offer little resistance [St. Petersburg Times]

Magic Number [Hartford Courant]

Beckett rights the ship with his 20th win [Pro Jo]

Crawford’s Strained Groin Is Improving [Tampa Tribune]

Youkilis news is positive [Boston Globe]

Crawford mulls pinch-hitting duty [St. Petersburg Times]

20 wins do rate great [Boston Herald]

It’s A Celebration Debate [Hartford Courant]

Hurler’s home is put on market [Pro Jo]

See ya, Devil; welcome, sunburst [St. Petersburg Times]

Lowell likes look of 20, too [Boston Herald]

A healing process [Boston Globe]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

Josh Beckett was just what the Red Sox needed. After some struggles in the 1st inning, Beckett settled down and gave the Sox six quality innings as they took advantage of some miscues by the Devil Rays. The end result was a much needed 8-1 Red Sox win.

Beckett becomes the first player since 2005 to win 20 games when Bartolo Colon did it. He becomes the 47th pitcher overall in Red Sox history to win 20 games. The last to do it was Curt Schilling in 2004 when he went 21-6.

The win for the Sox keeps the lead at least 1.5 games in the AL East as the Yanks are tied in the 12th with the Blue Jays. The magic number for the AL East is now 8 games and the playoff magic number is 2 games.

Jacoby Ellsbury got things going in the 1st inning as he led off with a double off of Red Sox nemesis Scott Kazmir. Dustin Pedroia played some small ball and sacrificed Ellsbury to third. With David Ortiz at the plate, Dioner Navarro tried to pick Ellsbury off at third but the throw went off the glove of Akinori Iwamura allowing Ellsbury to score. Kamir ended up striking out Big Papi and Mike Lowell for the final two outs. They were the first two of nine Sox batters to strikeout against Kazmir.

Iwamura led off the D’Rays half of the 1st with a strikeout. Beckett then issued a walk to Greg Norton and Carlos Peña. He got B.J. Upton to line out for the second out. Delmon Young drove in Norton with a double to tie the game at 1. Beckett finished off the inning with a strikeout of Jonny Gomes. Beckett threw 34 pitches in the inning.

The Sox struck again in the 3rd. Kazmir started off by hitting Eric Hinske. He got Ellsbury to strikeout but then issued a free pass to Pedroia. Big Papi brought in Hinske with a single to give the Sox a 2-1 lead with Pedroia advancing to third on the hit. Kazmir then struck out Lowell for the second time for the second out. With Bobby Kielty at the plate, Kazmir uncorked a wild pitch allowing Pedroia to score and Big Papi to move up a base. Kielty ended up walking and Jason Varitek reached base when Kazmir hit him with a pitch to load up the bases for Coco Crisp. Coco wasn’t able to come through for the Sox as Kazmir got his third strikeout of the inning.

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