A pair of aces

By Eric Wilbur

June 28, 2006

2 minutes to read

With all the pregame hype surrounding Pedro Martinez’s return to Fenway Park tonight, it might be easy to forget that, oh yeah, Josh Beckett just happens to be taking the hill for the Red Sox.

“I don’t think Josh has been overlooked in my mind,” manager Terry Francona said this afternoon at his pregame meeting with the media. “These next couple nights — I know we don’t have any trouble selling tickets — but I would buy one. These are going to be fun games.”

Indeed. Martinez-Beckett tonight, and another marquee matchup on tap in the series finale tomorrow, when Curt Schilling faces the resurgent Tom Glavine. For the third time in his last four outings, Schilling will go head-to-head (Johan Santana, John Smoltz) with one of baseball’s best pitchers.

“He knows who he’s facing and I think he relishes trying to be better,” Francona said. “That’s a very good feeling when you’re in the same uniform. Those are fun games.”

As for facing the former Red Sox ace tonight, Francona said in this day and age of free agency, these types of meetings seem to happen all the time.

“It’s different, but sometimes the better you know somebody the more you want to beat them,” he said. “That’s the competitive nature you have. It doesn’t take from the memories here, what’s transpired. But you want to win badly.”

Francona said that Jonathan Papelbon, given the night off during last night’s 9-4 win, would be available tonight.

“He wanted to be last night,” Francona said. “He’ll be fine tonight. He’s young.”

Matt Clement threw 30 pitches in a side session at Fenway yesterday, one that Francona said pitching coach Al Nipper was encouraged by. Clement will next play long toss tomorrow, then take a day before throwing another session.

Wily Mo Pena will take batting practice with the team tomorrow, then is headed on a rehab assignment to…uh, Greenville? Francona wasn’t quite sure.

“Let me get it to you later, OK?” he asked inquiring minds.

Francona admitted he struggled with the decision of whether to remove rookie lefty Jon Lester with the bases loaded in the fifth inning last night. Lester struck out David Wright to end the inning, pumping his fist on his way off the mound, a moment Francona said was huge for his development.

“I was struggling with that. Taking him out would have been the easy way out. Him getting through that inning was huge. You saw his reaction when he got that out.”

With pitch counts of 107 and 116 in his last two outings, however, Francona said that he might take Lester out earlier than the rookie would prefer in his next start.