Josh Beckett had 11 strikeouts and no walks over eight strong innings. (AP)

Kevin Youkilis drew a two-out, bases loaded walk in the top half of the ninth inning to break a 1-1 tie, and Jonathan Papelbon closed out the ninth to secure a 2-1 win and series sweep for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in Houston.

With one out in the ninth, Drew Sutton worked a pinch-hit walk in the 9 hole, and Jacoby Ellsbury put two men on with a single to right. Dustin Pedroia grounded into a fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners with two out, and Astros reliever Mark Melancon intentionally walked Adrian Gonzalez to face Youkilis with the bases loaded and two outs. After getting ahead in the count, 3-0, Youkilis drew a five-pitch walk to bring in the winning run.

Josh Beckett returned to form after a tough outing against the Phillies, striking out a season-high 11 hitters while allowing just one run on five hits over eight innings.

Despite Beckett’s strong stat line, he got off to a rocky start on Sunday. After starting with a strikeout, he gave up three hard-hit balls in the first inning, including two singles and a sharp liner right to Youkilis at third. Beckett got out of trouble by popping up Matt Downs and went on to retire the next 11 batters he faced.

The Astros slowed Beckett’s roll in the fifth inning with a leadoff double from Brett Wallace and a pinch-hit RBI single from Angel Sanchez, tying the game at 1. Houston struggled to put a rally together against Beckett after the fifth, and the Boston starter was pulled after eight innings and 102 pitches.

Meanwhile, Boston was shut down by relievers Sergio Escalona, Wilton Lopez and David Carpenter up until the ninth inning. David Ortiz pinch hit for Navarro with one on and one out in the eighth, but his interleague rust showed as he grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Twenty-year-old starter Jordan Lyles had little trouble setting down the Red Sox his first time through the order, retiring the first six batters he faced on just 23 pitches. Boston mustered a two-out rally in the third inning, loading the bases on two walks and a Jacoby Ellsbury single. However, Adrian Gonzalez skied a 2-0 pitch to shallow center field to end the threat.

The Sox broke through in the fourth, loading the bases again on singles by Youkilis and Yamaico Navarro and a walk to J.D. Drew. With one out, Jason Varitek chopped a pitch to first base. Carlos Lee tried to cut down Youkilis at home, but his high throw forced catcher Carlos Corporan to jump off the plate as Youkilis slid in safely, giving Boston a 1-0 lead. Lyles was pulled for a pinch hitter after five innings, finishing with one run on three hits and five walks with four strikeouts.

In the home half of the ninth, Papelbon worked around a two-out single and struck out the side for his 17th save.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE RED SOX

– Beckett was back to his dominant ways, showing pristine command as he struck out 11 Astros and walked none. The outing lowered his ERA to 2.12, now third-best in the bigs behind Jered Weaver and Jair Jurrjens.

– Just hours after being named to his first All-Star team, Ellsbury responded with a 2-for-4 day, including a walk and a stolen base.

– The Red Sox showed tremendous plate discipline in Sunday’s game, drawing 10 walks off Astros pitching (although one was intentional), including Youkilis’ game-winner in the ninth.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE RED SOX

– Boston squandered several scoring opportunities against Lyles. During the third, fourth and fifth innings, the Red Sox stranded seven runners on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. If not for Lee’s throwing error, the Sox would have come up empty with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth. In the seventh, Boston had an opportunity to retake the lead with two on and none out, but Gonzalez grounded into a double play and Youkilis lined out to center.

– Ortiz and Gonzalez also were named to the All-Star team Sunday but struggled mightily, hitting a combined 0-for-4 with two double plays and six runners left on base.

– After scoring 17 runs in the first two games of the Houston series, the Red Sox mustered just two runs against an Astros staff that ranks 30th in team ERA (4.70), and the entirety of Boston’s run production came on a bases-loaded walk and an error.