Loretta, covering second on the play, had the wherewithal to back up Gonzalez, quickly retrieving the ball and tossing to third base, where he had Lugo dead to rights. It could have been man on third, nobody out in a game the Sox led, 2-0. Instead, it was one out, nobody on, and Beckett got through the inning unscathed.
``It was a series of fortunate bounces," said Loretta, who was 2 for 5 with an RBI. ``That's a play you might see once a year. That was an aggressive play by [Lugo]. If he gets to third with nobody out, it's going to be tough to prevent him from scoring, given the way that team hits."
First baseman Kevin Youkilis, who reached base four times with two hits, a walk, and a strikeout in which he reached on a wild pitch, echoed the kudos for Loretta, calling it ``a great play on a split-second decision. Odds are he's going to score if he's safe."
There was certainly no one more appreciative than Beckett, who allowed four hits, struck out seven, and walked one, but had to toil with tough hitters who made him pitch deep into the count. After six innings, Beckett had thrown 101 pitches and in Dennis Eckersley's terms was ``gassed."
``That [the Loretta play] was unbelievable," Beckett said. ``I was just standing there in awe."
``Good players have a way of being in the right place," said Sox manager Terry Francona. ``At the time it was 2-0, got potentially the best speed in the league on base, their dangerous hitter coming up, [he] turns an extra-base hit into an out.
``That was a big, big play."
It was an impressive rebound after losing two of three to the Yankees. There were frustrating moments -- 15 left on base -- but the Sox banged out 13 hits against three pitchers, 11 against starter Doug Waechter (0-3).
Beckett, now 7-1 with an ERA dipping to 3.80, provided the impetus for the Sox' offense.
