ARLINGTON, Texas -- Josh Beckett's start Wednesday wasn't bad -- four earned runs in seven innings -- and it wasn't great. More than anything, however, it wasn't good enough. Beckett suffered through one inning in which he allowed three runs and another in which he wild-pitched the go-ahead run home, contributing to a 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. In his last nine starts, Beckett has won just once. "Josh gave us a zero in the first inning, as promised,'' said manager Bobby Valentine, referencing his starter's well-documented troubles in the early innings. "He pitched a good game. Wild pitch to score the go-ahead run... damn shame.'' Beckett, who didn't make himself available to reporters after the game, had a rough third inning in which he allowed five hits in the span of seven batters, though only one -- an opposite-field double by David Murphy -- was really hit hard. After that, Beckett retired the next eight in a row, and when Dustin Pedroia homered in the sixth, it seemed the Sox had a chance to win the game and the series. But in the seventh, Beckett plunked Elvis Andrus with one out and after striking out Josh Hamilton, yielded a single to right to former teammate Adrian Beltre, sending Andrus to third. A wild pitch with Michael Young eluded catcher Kelly Shoppach and Andrus scored from third easily, giving the Rangers a lead they would not relinquish. The loss dropped Beckett to 5-9. The Sox, meanwhile, are now 6-11 in games started by Beckett this season. "He was awesome,'' said teammate Dustin Pedroia of Beckett. "The balls we hit, they caught; the balls they hit, kind of fell in. That'sbaseball, I guess.''