Red Sox Beckett Feeling Confident Again

BOSTON (CBS) – After three straight quality starts, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett is feeling more like the 2007 Beckett than the 2010 version.

"It's nice to have confidence in your pitches, I have that right now," Beckett said after tossing eight innings of three-hit, two-run ball against the Angels in a 4-2, extra inning win. "I'm throwing three-four pitches, all of them for strikes when I need to throw for strikes and balls when I need them for balls."

Beckett's only blip on Thursday night came in the bottom of the seventh, when he walked lead-off man Bobby Abreu, followed by a game-tying two-run home run to Torii Hunter.

"I felt like I made pitches when I needed to, except for one," said Beckett. "The one Torii hit actually wasn't the worse pitch I threw that inning, it was the leadoff walk. If not we win 2-1."

Beckett Tells WBZ NewsRadio 1030 He Is Confident In His Pitches

Despite allowing the Angels back in it in the seventh, and a pitch count over 100, Manager Terry Francona had no thoughts to keep Beckett on the bench for the eighth.

"I thought he was throwing the ball really well, I didn't see a reason to take him out," said Francona. "He was tremendous."

Beckett is off to a stellar start, with a 1.93 ERA in his first four outings. Compare that to the injury-plagued 2010, when he had a 5.26 ERA through four starts. Thursday night was the second time this season Beckett has pitched into the eighth inning, something he did just once last season.

"I think it's his location starting with his fastball," catcher Jason Varitek said of Beckett's success. "His change-up, he worked hard in spring with, but it's the rotation of his fastball and the directness of it make a big difference for him."

"He's not just power, his other stuff has developed a little bit," added Varitek.