Terry Francona went to his bullpen in the 7th inning of a 2-1 game after Josh Beckett had only thrown 83 pitches, replacing Beckett with Matt Albers.
The early exit for Beckett makes you wonder if something is wrong with Beckett, who is averaging a little over 100 pitches per start this season.
According to NESN’s live blog, there has to be something up with Beckett:
Indeed, Matt Albers is coming on to pitch. We will see what the status is for Josh Beckett, who threw 83 pitches. If it was 11-1, he might be pulled. But this is obviously something physical.
Beckett was getting hit hard early in the outing, but was getting stronger as the game went along. He struck out two in his final inning.
Albers did okay in relief of Beckett in the 7th, though, striking out two to sandwich a one-out single to the struggling Brandon Inge.
UPDATE: Beckett left after just 83 pitches due to a stiff neck. [Enter joke(s)].