NEW YORK - Josh Beckett is the X-factor now, the man for whom the New York Yankees have positively no answer. For all the similarities that exist between the Red Sox and New York in 2008, Beckett stands as the single greatest difference. The Sox defeated the Yankees, 7-5, last night, but this was not the finale of a two-game miniseries so much as it was the conclusion of a weeklong affair. In seven days, the teams played five games. The Red Sox won three, two of which came behind Beckett, who now has won three consecutive starts vs. the Yanks by a 21-9 score dating back to the final days of last season.

From 2000-04, in his final 21 starts against the Yankees as a member of the Red Sox, Pedro Martinez never beat them three times in a row.