Sox hope Beckett continues to be armed force

Beckett has done the same this season, emerging from a blip in late April, to become the Beckett remembered with fierce devotion for his near-Cy Young campaign, for his ability to lead a team and a pitching staff, for his way of utterly taking over a team and a game.

“Based on spring training, he was in a position to have similar performances that he showed in ’07,’’ Farrell said. “He went through a stretch at the end of April that weren’t the outcomes that he or anyone else expected. But since that time he’s been a model of consistency at a very high level of performance.’’

His dip in April lasted for four starts, beginning after his stellar opener against the Rays. During that stretch, Beckett had a 1-2 record with an eye-popping 9.14 ERA. Batters were hitting .351 off him and were slugging .526. Not exactly the stuff of an ace.

Since then, however, Beckett has been otherworldly. In 18 games, his record is 12-2 with a 2.17 ERA. Batters are hitting .208 off him and are slugging .314. Pretty much the stuff of a Cy Young candidate.

He has not allowed a single run, earned or otherwise, in six of his last dozen starts.

“There’s a number of things that are contributing to this,’’ Farrell said. “Overall command, strike-throwing ability, certainly is there. But I think the mental component of his game has been very consistent, very much under control. He’s one that thrives on adrenaline to get him to a certain level of competitive state, but it’s not to the point where it’s overdone, that negatively affects his ability to make pitches from hitter to hitter or from inning to inning.

“I think more importantly in key situations, where there’s been less than two outs and runners on base, he’s not tried to do more, in other words, get added velocity or think, ‘I’m going to try to strike a guy out on the first pitch of the at-bat.’ As a result he’s methodically . . . gotten through a number of innings where runs could have scored.’’

In other words, he has learned from his mistakes.