It’s result that hurts for Beckett

CHICAGO — The slip in the fifth inning, during which it appeared Josh Beckett’s ankle rolled and knee buckled, wasn’t a factor. The home run in the fourth inning — Beckett has given up six in his last three starts — was.“I think what’s hurt him in stretches, he’s left the ball over the plate, they’ve been home runs,’’ first baseman Mike Lowell said. “It’s not two, three singles. Seems like guys were hitting home runs, and that hurts. That’s one, two runs right away.’’Thus ended Beckett’s 2010 season, a 5-2 loss to the White Sox that put him at 6-6 for the season. It has been a disappointing campaign, a season that never really got going for the Sox’ opening day starter, who missed nearly two months and finished with a 5.78 ERA.Beckett never quite found a rhythm after he came back from the disabled list July 23, and repeatedly got through the first five innings of a game before melting down in the sixth or seventh. That happened last night, when Beckett allowed a solo homer to A.J. Pierzynski in the fourth and nothing more until the seventh. He did have some trouble in the fifth, when the White Sox loaded the bases with one out before Beckett got two strikeouts.It was in that inning, on an infield single by Alejandro De Aza, when Beckett had his slip. He appeared to stumble going for the ball, and seemed to have experienced some pain, bringing out manager Terry Francona and the trainers. But, after the game, he said his ankle wasn’t a problem.The White Sox also loaded the bases and couldn’t score against Beckett in the sixth. But they did in the seventh, when three singles and a bunt thrown away by catcher Victor Martinez spiraled into three runs, ultimately the margin of defeat.“Made some good pitches when I needed to, and didn’t make good pitches in the seventh inning,’’ Beckett said. “There’s the difference in the game right there.“Results matter. People [say] results don’t matter. Results matter, winning and losing matters, and that’s what you base results off of. Can you get some tough luck losses? Yeah. But bottom line is results matter, and that’s kind of what you’re stuck looking at.’’And once again the result wasn’t there for Beckett last night, in his final chance of the year.“I thought it was a heck of a lot more good than it probably ends up showing up tomorrow in the line score or in the paper,’’ said Francona. “We weren’t doing much offensively, so there wasn’t much room for a mistake.’’No bringing it back That the home run he hit in the eighth could have been his last didn’t hit Lowell until about an inning later, when Eric Patterson asked whether they should have retrieved the ball. No one did, meaning the 223d and potentially final home run ball of his career was lost.“Eric Patterson told me, ‘Think we should have gotten the ball?’ ’’ Lowell said. “Maybe I should have. Maybe it’s karma that I’ll hit one more. Thought about it after the fact. If it is, maybe I’ll just get a ball and write it in.’’With just four games left until he retires, it’s possible that this was it for him in the homer department. It had, after all, been more than a month since his last, a 106 at-bat stretch since he took Shawn Camp deep in Toronto Aug. 10.“It felt like it [was a month],’’ said Lowell, who added that he now had bragging rights against his offseason workout partner, White Sox starter Freddy Garcia, who gave up the dinger. “There’s been stretches where obviously I haven’t swung the bat well. You never want to feel that way, but hopefully there’s one or two more maybe left in the tank. Sure feels good to run around the bases.’’Lester: 20 vision On the morning of Aug. 27, Jon Lester had 13 wins and eight losses, a respectable if unspectacular record. At that point, there was little talk about him winning 20 games, as he would have to win every one of his remaining seven starts.Yet six consecutive wins have brought Lester’s record to 19-8. So when he steps on the mound tonight to face the White Sox, there is the chance that he could become the Red Sox’ first 20-game winner since Beckett in 2007.“It’s a benchmark that every starting pitcher coming out of spring training may have in the back of their mind as a plateau to reach,’’ said pitching coach John Farrell. “When you look at the development of his changeup, his ability to use his cutter on both sides of the plate, certain things inside of his repertoire that have put him in this very select company, it’s been very rewarding.“No one deserves more credit for what he does, and the work that he’s put in.’’Not only has Lester not allowed an earned run in his last 15 innings, he has a 1.76 ERA over those last six starts. It all adds up to a season in which he is likely to finish in the top five in the American League Cy Young Award voting. But he has no control over that. He does have control over how many wins he ends up with. He already has surpassed his previous high of 16 in 2008.Lester rebounded from three terrible starts to begin the season. Since April 23, he has a 2.49 ERA and .204 batting average against. His ERA is 2.96, fourth in the AL.“He’s improved with each year,’’ Farrell said. “The numbers bear that out. He’s one that never settles for status quo.’’Cameron improving Outfielder Mike Cameron (lower abdominal strain) said he is improving since his surgery, though he is still not pain-free. “I’m doing very well,’’ Cameron said. “I’ve been doing everything. I’m still getting through some things. I mean, I was cut open four weeks ago.’’ Cameron said he expects to have a normal offseason, though he’ll have to do extra work to get himself ready for his usual routine . . . The Red Sox are 1-5 against the White Sox this season . . . David Ortiz is hitting .414 with 10 RBIs in his last seven games, after hitting a fourth-inning RBI single . . . Martinez’s 13-game hitting streak ended when he went 0 for 4 . . . Francona said he was “exhibiting flu-like symptoms’’ before the game, which led to him missing his pregame session with the media . . . The Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted infielder Jed Lowrie its Red Sox Comeback Player of the Year. Lowrie missed almost all of last season after surgery to repair his left wrist, and then he had mononucleosis the first half of this season. Lowrie will be honored at the writers’ dinner Jan. 20 at the Westin Copley Place Hotel. Tickets, which are $150 apiece, can be purchased with a check payable to The Sports Museum, 100 Legends Way, Boston 02114.Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @amaliebenjamin.