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Postgame: Moss Blames Himself »
June 23, 2008
by SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON -- Matched against Josh Beckett last night, Dan Haren knew he couldn't afford to make many mistakes. So he didn't.
Haren held the Red Sox scoreless on two hits over seven innings and outdueled Beckett as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the Sox, 2-1.
``Every run is at a premium in games like this,'' said Haren, who improved to 8-4 and recorded his first career win at Fenway. ``Every pitch is a grind. It's a tough place to win in general.''
Facing Beckett -- who was nearly as good, limiting the Diamondbacks to two runs over eight innings -- made the night an even bigger challenge.
``He knew,'' said Arizona manager Bob Melvin, ``he had to be really good and couldn't give much up.''
Until the seventh, Haren had allowed just one hit -- a Wall double by slumping Jason Varitek in the third. It helped that he walked just one hitter.
``Against a lineup like that,'' said Haren, ``you can't fall behind or walk guys. I was pretty aggressive with my fastball and when I was ahead (in the count), I made sure I stayed ahead.''
Haren threw 98 pitches through seven innings, but Melvin didn't consider sending him back out out for the eighth.
``He was cooked,'' said Melvin. ``I think he threw 24 (pitches) in the seventh and the last four or five, he had to work very hard (with runners at the corners).''
``In a 0-0 game,'' said Haren, ``so much effort goes into every pitch. It was a max effort game.''
After retiring the first six hitters he faced, Haren yielded Varitek's leadoff double in the third and issued a two-out walk to Jacoby Ellsbury later in the same inning.
But he fanned Dustin Pedroia to strand both baserunners and retired the next 11 in a row before laboring to get through the seventh.
``That might have been (the best stuff) Danny's had all year,'' said Mevlin. ``He was 94-95 mph (with his fastball) with a good breaking ball and a good split.''
Posted by Sean McAdam 
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