| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) For seven innings in his playoff debut, Josh Beckett shrugged off his nervousness and pitched exceptionally well.
Just not as well as Jason Schmidt.
Beckett, the Florida Marlins' promising 23-year-old right-hander, allowed two hits while striking out nine in a dominating performance against the San Francisco Giants.
But the effort was wasted when the Giants scored once during a fourth-inning rally. The Marlins couldn't solve Schmidt, who pitched a three-hitter in San Francisco's 2-0 victory in the opener of their best-of-five division series.
Though he put the Giants' powerful lineup on its heels, Beckett wasn't consoled by his near-miss.
``I'll remember it as a loss,'' he said. ``I'm 0-1 in my playoff career.''
The effort still should provide a huge confidence boost to Beckett, who admitted to a huge case of nerves in the hours before his first postseason start. But once he took the mound, Beckett's worries evaporated.
``To be honest, I thought I had more energy in the (final regular-season start against) Philadelphia,'' he said. ``It wasn't the way I expected it to be. It wasn't that difficult to stay focused.''
Beckett went 9-8 with a 3.04 ERA during 23 starts in just his second full big league campaign. He was the second pick overall in the 1999 draft one year after the Marlins gutted their roster and rebuilt from scratch following their 1997 World Series title.
He recognized his role as one of the Marlins' cornerstones in the days before his first playoff start and then pitched like an ace.
``Josh Beckett threw as well as I've ever seen him throw,'' first baseman Derrek Lee said. ``It was really an amazing game for him, just a great pitchers' duel.''
Beckett walked five batters including Barry Bonds twice but kept his composure in several tough situations. His nine strikeouts matched his season high.
With his parents in the stands, Beckett struck out five straight early on, quieting the largest crowd in Pacific Bell Park's four-year history. He stayed out of trouble until the fourth inning, when he threw 32 pitches and barely escaped with a one-run deficit.
Rich Aurilia scored when the Marlins botched a putout at first base, allowing the throw to roll up the line into their bullpen but Beckett struck out Schmidt with the bases loaded to minimize the damage.
Beckett briefly lost his focus in the seventh, walking Jose Cruz Jr. and throwing a wild pitch. But he got Schmidt and Ray Durham on infield outs to keep the Marlins within one run.
Todd Hollandsworth pinch-hit for Beckett in the eighth, but he was no more successful than his teammates.
If Brad Penny and Dontrelle Willis follow Beckett's lead in the next two games, the Marlins won't worry about having enough pitching to shut down Bonds and the Giants.
But Florida's pitchers can't do all the hitting, too.
``When you're lucky enough to get a pitching performance like that, you've got to score some runs,'' outfielder Juan Pierre said. ``It's almost like we wasted it.''