Blue Jays 11 Red Sox 8
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox ace Josh Beckett found some things to like about his outing Friday night. That said, he keeps giving up runs.
Beckett was hit hard, tagged for seven runs in six innings in Boston’s 11-8 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first spring meeting of the AL East rivals.
Beckett allowed 11 hits. He walked none, struck out five and hit a batter.
“Results aside, I felt like I did some things that we’ve been working on,” Beckett said. “I felt like they were a little comfortable for the first time. I got to take some positives away from that. But obviously the results are what they are.”
Beckett has struggled through the exhibition season. He said he is getting more accustomed with some changes he’s made to his delivery.
“Yeah, especially out of the stretch,” he said. “I had plenty of practice today on it.”
Beckett allowed the first batter in each inning to reach base.
“The two good things were he got real stretched out and he felt real good physically,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “He made some mistakes. It seemed like the first hitter of almost every inning was on. So he was pitching out of the stretch.
“Saying that, once he got to that point I thought he made some good pitches. There were some pitches that still wandered back over the middle, got hit pretty good. But he feels real good physically. I think it’s one of those things where in March, you’re glad he feels good and the runs don’t count,” he said.
Toronto starter Jesse Litsch gave up four runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He later went to a hospital because of dehydration.
Corey Patterson was hit in the helmet by a 95 m.p.h. fastball from Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard. Patterson walked off the field on his own but went to the hospital for a CT scan.
Toronto manager John Farrell said he didn’t know if Patterson would be kept overnight in the hospital.
“No preliminary report or anything,” Farrell said. “He was conscious when he came off the field, obviously. Until further tests come back, there’s no real report yet.”
J.P. Arencibia had three hits for the Blue Jays, including a three-run homer off Dennys Reyes.
Earlier this week, Reyes extended his deadline from Friday to Saturday for the Red Sox to add him to the major league roster or allow him to become a free agent.
Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez each had two hits for Boston.
Braden Looper retires
MESA, Ariz. — Braden Looper has told the Chicago Cubs he is retiring.
The 36-year-old pitcher was in camp as a non-roster player, trying to make a comeback after sitting out last season. The Cubs informed him Friday that he would not make the team out of spring training, so Looper decided to retire.
Looper did not pitch last season after going 14-7 with a 5.22 earned-run average in 2009 for the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998.
The right-hander, drafted No. 3 overall by St. Louis in 1996, spent the first nine seasons of his big league career as a reliever before working as a starter from 2007-09. He finished 72-65 with a 4.15 ERA and 103 saves.
In addition to St. Louis and Milwaukee, Looper also pitched for the New York Mets and Florida Marlins. He saved a career-high 29 games for the Mets in 2004.