That was when the first set of catcher and manager was ejected by Tichenor, with the Twins' Mike Redmond and Ron Gardenhire getting the boot for arguing a play at the plate. Then it was the Red Sox' turn.
Varitek stood there, his right arm extended, as Tichenor raised his right arm to issue the ejection. Seconds later, Sox manager Terry Francona arrived, but too late to save his catcher, and he also was soon thrown out. Varitek, however, saved Beckett, who was 6 1/3 innings into an ace-like outing and later acknowledged, "It was all caused by me."
Varitek, who has found power in his formally impotent swing, had hit two home runs, solo shots that provided enough support for a trio of pitchers in a 3-1 win over the Twins. While the first homer traveled an estimated 408 feet to center, the second left an impression.
"That was nice to see," Francona said. "That was a beautiful swing."
Varitek's second homer was estimated at 427 feet, landing in the upper deck in right-center. Both came from the left side against rookie righthander Anthony Swarzak. Varitek now has five homers from each side of the plate, and raised his average batting lefthanded from .222 to .231 (.248 overall).
Varitek has declined to speak about his offense all season, and yesterday he declined to speak at all. Emotions had clearly won out in the bottom of the seventh, though protecting his pitcher from being tossed in such a situation cannot be overstated, even with Beckett likely to only finish that inning.
It appeared that Beckett was getting a tight strike zone, which didn't hamper him much, as he allowed just one run - a homer by Joe Crede in the second - on three hits and four walks. He struck out eight batters, and allowed only two Twins to reach third.
"I thought [Tichenor] was making it hard on Beckett," Francona said after praising his starter. "I know Beckett yelled in. Tek's protecting Beckett, and I'm protecting Tek. He got Tek, and that's what I didn't want to have happen. I'm not fast enough to get out there in time. I'd rather him throw me out than Tek. Tek's going to have a hell of a lot more to do with the outcome than I am. Sometimes you have to state your opinion."
He did. So did Varitek. So did Redmond. And so did Gardenhire.
