“I’ve done this before playing basketball. It scared me more than anything, because it literally feels like bone on bone,’’ Beckett said. “Straightening it out is a little bit of an issue, but [the doctor] feels like I’ll be fine in a couple of days.’’
Beckett was removed for what the Sox are calling precautionary reasons. His five innings were the fewest since May 4, a span of 12 starts, when a rain delay limited him to 4 ⅓ against the Angels. He threw 68 pitches, matching a season low, also from that May 4 game. He earned the win, though, improving to 8-3.
Beckett said he expects to throw his normal side session tomorrow, and doesn’t think the mild injury will affect his availability for Tuesday’s All-Star Game, where he’ll be making his third appearance, assuming he’s healthy.
A steady mist fell during the first half of the game, with the grounds crew applying generous amounts of topsoil in high-traffic areas. Beckett landed awkwardly while planting his left foot on a follow-through to Robert Andino in the fifth, bringing plate umpire Mike Estabrook, Sox manager Terry Francona, and assistant trainer Greg Barajas out to see if Beckett had injured himself or if the mound needed some repairs.
As it turns out, both.
“I think you leave that tarp on there when it’s raining and the dirt soaks up all that moisture,’’ Beckett said.
He certainly didn’t mind the first delay, watching the Red Sox bat around in the first - and then some.
“It was great. You’ve got to remember to still pitch,’’ Beckett said.
Beckett breezed through the first four innings, but encountered problems in the fifth. Derrek Lee opened with a homer, Beckett walked two batters (including Andino, after the mound was repaired), then gave up two run-scoring singles. With his left knee tender and the Sox up, 8-3, his night was over.
There was one more delay in the game, though, this time in the eighth inning, when Ortiz didn’t appreciate two straight inside pitches by Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg. The benches emptied after the second inside pitch, but without any pushing, shoving, or punches thrown. All that came after the next pitch, when Ortiz flew to short right-center, then stopped halfway to first when Gregg started barking at him. Ortiz charged, both players swung and missed, and a pig pile ensued, resulting in the ejections of Gregg, Ortiz, Orioles reliever Jim Johnson, and Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
By then, Beckett had already showered, hoping that his fifth-inning slip ’n scare isn’t serious and remains just a minor footnote to Fight Night at Fenway.
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com.
