THREE UP
AL Cy Young Award candidate Josh Beckett won his 19th game a day after his Red Sox had suffered a crushing loss. Beckett gave up one run and three hits in seven innings, walked two and struck out seven in a 10-1 victory over the Yankees. Beckett won his third straight start.
After missing a start due to a bruised hand, Derek Lowe returned and allowed just one run in seven innings to keep the Dodgers in the NL West and wild-card races with a win over the Diamondbacks. Lowe hurt his hand playing catch Tuesday with pitcher Jonathan Broxton.
Quietly, Scott Kazmir may be the hottest pitcher in baseball. Kazmir struck out 11 in six innings in a 6-2 win over Seattle and is 4-0 in his last five starts. He’s tied for the major-league lead with 220 strikeouts. His 35th career victory ties Victor Zambrano in Tampa Bay history.
THREE DOWN
Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran misplayed a line drive by Jimmy Rollins into a two-run triple in the eighth inning, giving the Phillies a 5-3 come-from-behind win. “It was a bad read,” Beltran said. “After I took that one step forward, the ball went over my head.”
Horacio Ramirez had the second-shortest start in Mariners history, lasting just four batters and 20 pitches before being removed in a 6-2 loss to the Devil Rays. Ramirez didn’t retire a batter, and manager John McLaren hoped to keep the game close with the change.
Career start No. 300 wasn’t a memorable one for Matt Morris. The Pirates right-hander gave up nine hits and seven runs in just 3 1/3 innings in a 9-7 loss to Houston to fall to 9-10 on the season. Morris didn’t strike out anyone and is two shy of 1,200 in his career.
