BOSTON -- Josh Beckett turned in one of his best starts of the season. Not that it did him any good.
Beckett limited the Baltimore Orioles to two runs on five hits over eight innings, but his teammates managed little against three Baltimore pitchers, resulting in a 2-1 loss for the Red Sox.
Three straight singles from the bottom of the third of the order -- plus a fielder's choice -- resulted in the two Baltimore runs in the sixth off Beckett, 4-6.
The lone Boston run came in the third on a double from Darnell McDonald, a single by Marlon Byrd and a sacrifice fly from Mike Aviles.
The Sox had other chances, but failed to capitalize. They had runners at first and second with no one out in the seventh but after a sacrifice bunt by McDonald, starter Wei-Yin Chen fanned Byrd and retired Aviles on a pop-up.
A similar chance in the eight off reliever Pedro Strop also sputtered when, after one-out walks to Kevin Youkilisand David Ortiz, Will Middlebrooks and Scott Podsednik failed to advance either runner.
The eight innings for Beckett was the deepest he's pitched in a game since the home opener on April 13.
The loss, Boston's third in a row, dropped the Red Sox to 2-6 against Baltimore this season.