CHICAGO -- From the second inning through the seventh Josh Beckett was every bit as good as his opponent, Gavin Floyd.
Unfortunately for Beckett and the Red Sox, the same can't be said about the first inning.
Beckett gave up a run-scoring single and a two-run homer in the first, and that was enough to back Floyd and send the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory, snapping the Red Sox' six-game
winning streak.
The Red Sox were held hitless until Dustin Pedroia singled up the middle with one out in the seventh. After a David Ortiz double and a single by Cody Ross, the Red Sox ended Floyd's
shutout bid and chased him from the game, but with runners at the corners, Nick Punto, a last-minute substitute for Kevin Youkilis (lower back tightness), grounded to third.
After scoring 44 runs in their first five games of the road trip, the Red Sox managed just two in their final two games.
Beckett pitched 6 23 innings and threw 126 pitches, tying his career high which was set back in 2004. He struck out a season-high eight.
The White Sox tacked on an insurance run against Rich Hill and Junichi Tazawa in the eighth inning.