HBT: Beckett serves up 5 HRs; is thumb an issue?

Perhaps Josh Beckett?s thumb is a bit more of an issue than originally believed.

Beckett was just pulled from his start against the Tigers after tying a career-high by serving up five home runs. This included two homers each by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, the new 3-4 combo in Detroit?s lineup. Alex Avila hit the other. The only other time Beckett had allowed five home runs in a game was August 23, 2009 against the Yankees.

All told, Beckett gave up seven runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings while walking one and striking out three. Just to put things into perspective about how bad this start was, Beckett didn?t allow more than six earned runs in any of his starts last year and it took him until June 28 to give up his fifth homer of the season.

Who knows if the bad performance had anything to do with the thumb. Weird things happen over the course of a season. But it?s worth noting that Aaron Cook tossed seven shutout innings today for Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox would have a built-in replacement if Beckett really is hurt.

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