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PHILADELPHIA -- If he keeps this up, Josh Beckett wont have to worry about hearing boos anymore. cheap jerseys from china . Beckett pitched 7 2-3 strong innings and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a three-run homer to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. Mike Aviles also homered and drove in two runs for Boston, which has won eight of 10 games overall after taking the final two of this three-game series. Beckett (4-4) was booed off the mound May 10 when he allowed seven runs in 2 1-3 innings following news that he had played golf while skipping a start to rest a strained lat muscle -- but he has been spectacular since. After shutting out Seattle in a home win on May 15 by pitching seven scoreless innings and giving up four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks, Beckett allowed one run on seven hits Sunday while striking out five and walking two. "I was making pitches when I needed to and the defence was unbelievable, everybody contributed," Beckett said. "I was keeping the ball down and I threw a few changeups, or I got ground balls. Its nice to keep the ball in this ballpark." His only blemish was Juan Pierres sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave Philadelphia its only run. "His stuff was really moving today," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said of Beckett. "He was aggressive in the strike zone and he looked like he wanted it." Adrian Gonzalez went 2 for 4 and now is 9 for 16 lifetime against Phillies lefty Cliff Lee. Lee (0-2), making just his sixth start of the season after spending time on the DL with a strained oblique, had his worst start of the year. In seven innings, he allowed five runs on nine hits -- both season highs. He struck out six and walked one. "Theyve got a good offence," Lee said. "They make you throw a lot of pitches. They foul off good pitches until they get one to hit. Its definitely the sign of a good offence, which they are." The three-time All-Star and 2008 AL Cy Young winner has been pitching well this season, entering with a 1.95 ERA, but has not been getting run support some of the time or bullpen support other times. The Phillies offence didnt help Lee, once again, but this time the left-hander wasnt able to keep Philadelphia close. "Tonight it was definitely my fault," he said. "Ive gotta do a better job of that. I gotta get deeper in the game without giving up so many runs. This one falls on me." Aviles led off with a homer for the second straight game, ripping Lees 1-1 cutter into the seats in left. "I just try to put the ball in play, try to hit the ball up the middle and whatever happens, happens," Aviles said. "Im just trying to get on base." After Aviles RBI single in the second gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, Boston went ahead 5-0 in the third inning on Saltalamacchias three-run homer that cleared the seats in centre field and reached Ashburn Alley, the fan walkway behind the outfield seats. Lee said the pitch was a mistake. "I threw a changeup up out over the plate," he said. "Other than that, I felt like they battled. They fouled off a lot of good pitches, made me work a lot early. They got themselves a nice lead and never really lost it." Lee settled down after that, retiring the next 11 batters before Becketts single off the wall in centre to lead off the seventh. But the damage had been done. "I was hoping once (Lee) settled in he started pitching pretty good we could score some runs for him, but we couldnt do it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We hit some balls hard early but we couldnt get any big hits and drive runs in." Beckett was in total command against a Phillies lineup that had 15 hits the previous night. Other than the third inning, the right-hander allowed just two runners to reach second base prior to the eighth. "He kept the ball down good," Manuel said. "He hung in there, kept his pitch count down and (it) allowed him to go deep." The Phillies threatened in the third, putting runners on second and third with one out after Lee doubled, but Jimmy Rollins grounded out to third and Pierre lined out sharply to first to keep Philadelphia scoreless. Philadelphia scored its run in the eighth on Pierres sacrifice fly to left that scored pinch-hitter Pete Orr, who doubled. Valentine lifted Beckett after the right-hander walked Shane Victorino to put runners on first and second. And the bases were loaded when reliever Vicente Padilla walked Hunter Pence. But Padilla got Ty Wigginton to ground out to second to escape the jam. "Thats a situation you want to be in and Padilla did a good job," Wigginton said. The Phillies were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position Sunday, and now are 3 for 21 in their last two games. Notes: A day after making a sensational catch in centre field, Bostons Ryan Sweeney didnt play. Valentine said he would be evaluated further on Monday, mentioning a possible concussion. . Phillies GM Ruben Amaro defended the clubs use of a cortisone shot last Sept. 18 on Ryan Howards injured left foot. The reaction was in response to a Philadelphia Inquirer story Sunday suggesting that the cortisone shot may have contributed to Howards Achilles tear last Oct. 7. ... Boston OF Cody Ross didnt play for the second straight game after fouling a ball off his left leg on Friday. ... The crowd of 45,586 was the 225th straight sellout and 241st counting post-season play. ... Philadelphia RHP Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 5.96), filling in for injured right-hander Vance Worley (elbow), is scheduled to face Washington left-hander Gio Gonzalez (5-1, 2.22) on Monday night when the Phillies host the first of a three-game series. ... Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (4-2, 7.77) opposes Orioles RHP Tommy Hunter (2-2, 4.78) when the Red Sox travel to AL East-leading Baltimore on Monday. nfl jerseys china . Barcelona says Pique tore a muscle in his right leg. The Spain international will miss Spanish league games against Almeria and Valladolid, but should be back for the Champions league match against Manchester City on March 12. wholesale nfl jerseys . 1 overall pick likes best about football. "Big hits," he said. "Im all about hitting. I dont care who it is." Thats what the Houston Texans are counting on from the South Carolina defensive end after skipping a chance to take a quarterback -- their top need -- with the top pick Thursday night.RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- FIFA will not take action against the Colombia player who injured Neymar and ended the Brazil stars World Cup. FIFA said its disciplinary panel "cannot consider this matter" under the rules because the match referee saw the challenge by Camilo Zuniga and judged it at the time. "In this specific case, no retrospective action can be taken," FIFA said in a statement on Monday, because the incident "did not escape the match officials attention." In a separate decision, the panel also refused to consider a Confederation of Brazilian Football appeal against captain Thiago Silvas yellow card in the 2-1 win quarterfinals over Colombia on Friday in Fortaleza. Thiago Silvas second caution of the tournament triggered a one-match ban which he will serve in the semifinals. Brazil will therefore be without its best player and its captain against Germany on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte. Neymar will be sidelined for about 45 days after sustaining a fractured third vertebra. The panel studied video of Zunigas 86th-minute challenge, where he kneed Neymar in the back when jumping into him at speed. Zuniga apologized on Saturday. Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo did not show Zuniga a yellow card, and FIFAs disciplinary panel coonsidered the incident judged on the spot. cheap jerseys. The seriousness of an injury could not be weighed in a disciplinary decision, nor was mistaken identity a factor in the case, FIFA added. "First and foremost, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (Claudio Sulser) wishes to state that he deeply regrets the incident and the serious consequences on Neymars health," the statement said. The Luis Suarez biting case earlier in the World Cup raised expectations that Sulsers panel would also punish Zuniga. However, Suarezs bite of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellinis shoulder was missed by match officials. That allowed Sulser to use video evidence to ban the Uruguay forward for nine international matches and four months. The Mexican referee in that case, Marco Rodriguez, will handle the Brazil-Germany semifinal in his first match duty since Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 on June 24. Thiago Silva was booked against Colombia for impeding goalkeeper David Ospina who tried to kick the ball downfield. The FIFA disciplinary code states that cautions can be cancelled only in "exceptional circumstances." The panel "cannot consider the matter given the fact that there is no legal basis entitling it to grant such request," FIFA said. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
