BOSTON — Josh Beckett turned the boos to cheers one start after he was loudly jeered by throwing seven shutout innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. It was Boston’s fifth straight victory. All the wins have come at Fenway, the longest streak since the Red Sox won nine straight last July. David Ortiz hit a solo homer and Mike Aviles had two RBI doubles for the Red Sox. Beckett had given up seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings in a loss to Cleveland last Thursday. It came after he admitted to going golfing when his previous start was scratched as a precaution because he told the club he had a sore lat muscle. But on Tuesday he was in complete command against the offensively challenged Mariners. Beckett (3-4), who turned 32 years old on Tuesday, gave up four singles, walked two and and fanned nine. His strikeouts moved him into sixth place ahead of Bruce Hurst on the club’s all-time list. Rich Hill and Alfredo Aceves each worked a scoreless inning for Boston to complete the combined four-hit shutout. The Mariners, who completed the second stop of a four-city, 10-game road trip, have lost five of seven. Ichiro Suzuki had two singles and a pair of nice sliding catches for Seattle, which entered the day with the AL’s second-worst batting average at .235. Mariners starter Blake Beavan (2-3) allowed three runs on five hits in four innings. Beckett breezed through the first three perfect innings, striking out six and throwing just 37 pitches. He worked out of trouble in the fourth and sixth after the Mariners got a pair of runners on in each inning. Ortiz’s eighth homer of the season — a drive into the Red Sox bullpen — made it 1-0 in the third. Boston added a pair of runs in the fourth. Aviles’ RBI double came after Cody Ross walked and went to third on Daniel Nava’s single. Nava then scored on Ryan Sweeney’s grounder to second. Will Middlebrooks’ RBI single made it 4-0 in the fifth against Charlie Furbush. Ortiz led off with a perfectly placed bunt single down the third-base line against the shift, advanced when Justin Smoak’s throw took shortstop Munenori Kawasaki off the bag on Adrian Gonzalez’s easy double-play ball. The lumbering Ortiz advanced on a wild pitch before Middlebrooks singled off the base of the Green Monster. Aviles’ second double made it 5-0 in the eighth. Notes: Mariners 1B Justin Smoak’s early-season struggles may be slowly coming to an end. He was 8 for his last 16 coming into Tuesday’s game, raising his average 41 points to .214. “I’m encouraged by what we’re seeing with him, because what we’re seeing is real, with his approach and mindset,” manager Eric Wedge said before the game. But he went hitless in four at-bats. … The Red Sox honored recently retired RHP Tim Wakefield with a 25-minute on-field ceremony before the game. They also cut his No. 49 into the center-field grass. The knuckleballer played 19 seasons in the majors, 17 with the Red Sox. He was the longest serving member with Boston and retired with the second-most wins club history with 186, behind only Roger Clemens and Cy Young, who each collected 192. … It was Beckett’s second career start on his birthday. The other was a win over Baltimore on May 15, 2006 when he allowed one run in seven innings.

Lester shuts down Mariners in Red Sox win

Seattle’s Dustin Ackley had never faced Jon Lester before Monday night and afterward said that the Boston Red Sox left-hander’s cutter looked identical to his fastball.

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One can argue Josh Beckett has been at times disconnected from the rabid Boston Red Sox fan base given his responses to closely scrutinized actions.

There is no debate, however, that his last start was very disappointing.

The embattled right-hander – who steered clear of controversy between starts this time out – looks to avoid losing a third consecutive outing Tuesday night when the Red Sox wrap up their two-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

Beckett (2-4, 5.97 ERA) caused a mini-maelstrom in Massachusetts on Thursday when he allowed as many runs and hits as outs recorded – seven – in an 8-3 defeat to Cleveland. While one bad outing may incur the wrath of some fans in Boston, the pile-on came because Beckett opted to play golf one day after he was scratched from his prior scheduled start due to a sore lat muscle in his back.

Generally prickly when it comes to dealing with the media, Beckett made no apologies for his round of golf with teammate Clay Buchholz, saying, “We get 18 off-days a year. I think we deserve a little bit of time to ourselves,” but did note later he deserved the booing he got upon leaving his shortest outing in nearly four years.

However, facing the Mariners (16-21) has proven to be a cure-all most times for Beckett, who is 6-2 with a 3.39 ERA against them. He has been dominant versus Seattle at Fenway Park, winning all four of his starts while posting a 1.98 ERA and striking out 27 in 27 1-3 innings.

Beckett has not lost three straight outings since July 19-30, 2008.

The Red Sox (16-19) are hoping Beckett can bounce back while adding to their best run at Fenway this season. They won their fourth straight there with Monday’s 6-1 victory as Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach hit fourth-inning homers to break open the game and back Jon Lester’s eight-hitter.

“We’re trying to build a foundation of confidence in our team,” manager Bobby Valentine said.

Seattle has dropped nine of 10 on the road and 11 of 16 overall. During that 10-game road slump, the Mariners are averaging 2.3 runs and batting .229. While Ichiro Suzuki is hitting .333 (14 for 42) in that span, he only has one RBI, and that has manager Eric Wedge looking for more from his veteran outfielder.

“I’m hoping we can get a little more production out of the 3-spot, out of Ichiro, driving in runs,” he said. “He’s the one veteran we’ve got in the lineup and he has to produce for us.”

Suzuki has had middling success versus Beckett, going 7 for 30 with a homer and eight strikeouts.

Seattle scheduled starter Blake Beavan (1-3, 4.32) was given an extra two days to recover after being hit on the right arm by a line drive in his May 7 start against Detroit that knocked him out of the game after three innings.

The 22-year-old right-hander hasn’t gotten much support in his six starts – a total of 10 runs, nine of which have come in two outings – but Beavan also had allowed at least three runs in his prior four starts before facing the Tigers.

The Red Sox hit Beavan hard in dealing him two losses last year, totaling nine runs and 20 hits in 13 innings. David Ortiz is 3 for 7 with a homer and a double, Adrian Gonzalez is 3 for 6 with two doubles and Dustin Pedroia has a pair of two-base hits in six at-bats versus Beavan.

Spring training is winding down and rosters are beginning to take shape. In less than two weeks, teams will return to their respective cities and begin the grueling process to October baseball.

The highlight of the March 26, 2012 schedule features two of the top teams in baseball. The Boston Red Sox will visit the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies in a meeting of two of the traditionally stronger teams in their respective leagues. Potentially these two teams could meet again in the World Series if the season unfolds in their favor.

Another exciting exhibition game taking place will feature the Seattle Mariners and the Yomiuri Giants in the early morning here in the United States. Both the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics are in Japan getting ready to open the regular season with a two-game series in Tokyo on March 28-29.

Check your local listings for game times and channel listings in your area. With MLB.TV select games are also available nationwide.

Note: All start times Eastern

Monday, March 26, 2012

Seattle Mariners at Yomiuri Giants, 6:04 a.m. (Tokyo, Japan)

Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies 1:05 p.m. (Clearwater, Fla.)

Houston Astros at Washington Nationals, 1:05 p.m. (Viera, Fla.)

Miami Marlins at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m. (Lakeland, Fla.)

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:05 p.m. (Jupiter, Fla.)

Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins, 1:05 p.m. (Lee County, Fla.)

Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:05 p.m. (Glendale, Ariz.)

Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Angels, 4:05 p.m. (Tempe, Ariz.)

Kansas City Royals at San Francisco Giants, 4:05 p.m. (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians, 4:05 p.m. (Goodyear, Ariz.)

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs (SS), 4:05 p.m. (Mesa, Ariz.)

Chicago Cubs (SS) at Arizona Diamondbacks, 4:10 p.m. (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Baltimore Orioles at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 p.m. (Bradenton, Fla.)

Cincinnati Reds at Texas Rangers, 9:05 p.m. (Surprise, Ariz.)

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.