BOSTONJosh Beckett, who left his Tuesday start against the Tigers with a back spasm with two outs in the third inning and was scratched from his scheduled Sunday start, could start Wednesday in the homestand finale against the Rangers.
Several hours before the Red Sox played the Twins at Fenway Park Saturday night, Josh Beckett (5-9, 4.54 ERA) was in the outfield throwing to the bullpen catcher from varying distances out to about 120 feet.
He really felt good today and we're going to try to insert him in on Wednesday, manager Bobby Valentine said.
Beckett has made 18 starts this season, with 10 quality starts. The Sox are 7-11 in his outings.
He missed 16 games in June when he was on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Beckett also missed his May 5 start with a lat strain.
Left-hander Franklin Morales is scheduled to take Becketts place Sunday. It will be his sixth start of the season, first since July 13 in Tampa Bay, and his first career start against the Twins. In four relief appearances, spanning 3 23 innings, he has allowed three runs. All the runs he allowed were prior to joining the Sox in May 2010. Since then, he has pitched two scoreless innings over three games against Minnesota.