"I think he's a good player, a good hitter," manager Terry Francona said after Drew's breakout game. "It was fun to watch him swing the bat like that.
"We need that long term. He looked excited, the dugout looked excited. He took good swings, and hit balls that traveled deep."
Beckett, who becomes the first pitcher since Jose Contreras of the White Sox last season to win his first nine decisions, is unlikely to need any dangling chads to win election to the All-Star Game, an honor that eluded him in Florida. Beckett gave up five hits in eight innings, including a pinch home run by Miguel Montero in the eighth. Only two of the three runs he allowed were earned. He did not walk a batter and threw an economical 92 pitches.
Beckett has enjoyed great run support all season -- he came into the game with 8.44 runs per nine innings, the second-best support in the majors. But this was the first time it was generated by Drew.
"We all knew it was just a matter of time," Beckett said. "He's a great hitter. I've seen him do it a lot in Atlanta, saw him in LA and in St. Louis. It was a big night for him."
Beckett also got an assist in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't kind of way from Lugo, short-circuiting a budding Diamondbacks rally in the third. Callaspo, a rookie from Venezuela who is facing criminal charges in connection with an alleged assault on his wife, singled to open the third. Chris Snyder followed with a ground single to right. Callaspo took such a wide turn coming around second, Drew threw behind him, causing Callaspo to scramble back to the bag, where he beat Lugo's tag.
But Callaspo was unaware that Lugo had not returned the ball to the mound. As long as Beckett wasn't standing on the dirt of the mound, the ball was still in play, as a red-faced Callaspo belatedly discovered when Lugo, still lurking behind him, slapped the tag on him.
