KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Josh Beckett earned his 16th win, going six innings, allowing 12 hits and two runs, while striking out seven and walking one. Here are his comments after the Red Sox’ 9-2 win over Kansas City, at Kauffman Stadium:

• “They hit a lot of groundballs, some of them at guys, some of them not at guys. We played good defense, and obviously got some timely hits.”
• (Do you feel strong?) “I definitely think I threw the ball better today than I have in a while. They hit some balls at guys, and they hit some balls not at guys. I think they had eight groundball hits. That means I’m keeping the ball down. I felt like I had a good sinker today.”
• (On working with Victor Martinez) “It was fine. We’re still feeling each other out. Obviously, you can’t expect him to go out there and he and I to be like me and Jason for three years now. It was good.”
• “I did a good job with the exception of I think three hits in the fourth inning. Those were the times. I had a few more opportunities today to make the pitches that I would have liked.”
• “This time of year, I think everything is based on results. I don’t think this time of year is the time to say, ‘Well, I executed that pitch, but…’ Like the DeJesus cutter in – he popped it up and it ended up falling. I think everything is based on results at this time of year. I guess that’s just the nature of playing where we play.”
• (What do you want to accomplish over the next few starts) “Just giving us a chance to win. I feel like I did a good job of damage control today with all the hits that piled up. Just make good pitches when you need to.”
• (On having a career-high in innings) “I think that 200 mark is kind of where you’re trying to get each year. That seems more like a full season. I think anything over that is just kind of extra.”
• (Do you view 200 innings as a baseline?) ” No. You have to have a full season. You can’t have a season where you’re averaging five innings unless you end up with eight more starts than everyone else. I don’t think you establish that. It’s not an easy thing to do in either league. I do think it’s a little easier to do in the American League, because you’re not getting pulled with a pinch-hitter with guys on second and third with two outs in the seventh inning. In the National League, that happens quite a bit. It’s not an easy thing, going after 200 innings.  There’s a few guys, I’d say most staffs have maybe one guy who throws 200 innings. There’s not a whole lot of staffs that end up with two or three guys that do that.
• (Comparing this year vs. last) “No glitches – it’s nice. You’re not out there wondering, ‘Oh, is this going to come back or is this going to happen?’ You’re just going out there to execute pitches.”

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