I don't know if this loss was the so much the Braves inept offense as much as it was the absolute dominance of Josh Beckett -- who seems to always own us. Beckett threw a complete game shutout, striking out 7, and allowing 5 singles. He also erased several threats by getting two double plays and getting a little help from his catcher, who threw out Chipper Jones at second base on a wild pitch that didn't get away long enough for Chipper to advance. Thanks to those plays he faced only two batters over the minimum. Beckett has now allowed the Braves only 2 runs in the last 40 innings he has thrown head to head against them.
The Braves offensively couldn't get anything going, and Derek Lowe was victimized by some lucky hits off the Green Monster and an unfortunate throwing error by Kelly Johnson. Lowe got a nice standing ovation from the Red Sox fans when he was relieved in the seventh inning.
With all that pitching and not a lot of offense -- and perhaps a sense of urgency to get the game in before the rain came -- the game lasted just 2 hours and 11 minutes.