Jalen Beeks finding a comfort zone with Rays

BOSTON — The Nathan Eovaldi trade for little-used rookie Jalen Beeks doesn’t look quite as lopsided any more, does it?

Eovaldi has been impressive in three of his four starts since the Sox acquired him for Beeks on July 25, but on Sunday afternoon Beeks blanked Boston over four innings of relief to pick up the victory in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 conquest at Fenway Park.

Beeks entered the game after starter Diego Castillo blanked the Sox for the first 1 2/3 [...]

BOSTON — The Nathan Eovaldi trade for little-used rookie Jalen Beeks doesn’t look quite as lopsided any more, does it?

Eovaldi has been impressive in three of his four starts since the Sox acquired him for Beeks on July 25, but on Sunday afternoon Beeks blanked Boston over four innings of relief to pick up the victory in Tampa Bay’s 2-0 conquest at Fenway Park.

Beeks entered the game after starter Diego Castillo blanked the Sox for the first 1 2/3 innings — that’s the way the Rays do things — and he allowed only one hit, a single in the fourth by Andrew Benintendi, who he hadn’t faced since a fall-ball scrimmage when they attended the University of Arkansas together. Beeks didn’t try to brush him back.

“We’ll save that for next time, I guess,” Beeks said.

The 25-year-old southpaw walked two and struck out three. He threw double-play balls to J.D. Martinez in the fourth and Blake Swihart in the fifth.

“The fastball came out really good, 93, 94,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I saw some 94s we hadn’t seen out of him, so he was probably a little amped up pitching against his former team. But he composed himself enough to throw strikes and get big outs.”

“He was throwing harder,” Sox manager Alex Cora agreed. “I saw 94. I didn't see that here. Besides that, the same — cutter, fastball, breaking ball, a better mix of the breaking ball. He did a good job."

“I didn’t feel like I was throwing harder,” Beeks said. “I throw every pitch as hard as I can.”

The Sox drafted Beeks in the 12th round in 2014 and he was named the franchise’s Minor-League Pitcher of the Year in 2017 when he compiled a record of 11-8 and a 3.29 ERA with Portland and Pawtucket. He made his major-league debut in June for the Sox and in two games with Boston, both at Fenway Park, he allowed 11 hits and nine earned runs in 6 1/3 innings and was sent back to Pawtucket.

The Sox wanted another experienced starting pitcher so they dealt Beeks for Eovaldi, who had gone 14-3 with the Yankees in 2015 and was 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 starts this season for Tampa after missing the previous season following his second Tommy John surgery.

Beeks admitted he was surprised to be traded. So what did it mean to him to beat the team that dealt him?

“It’s a complicated question just because I was with them for five years,” he said. “But it was like any other game. I didn’t approach it differently. I didn’t necessarily want it more. Just postgame, happy that I pitched well in Fenway.”

In Beeks’ debut with the Rays on July 28, he was pounded for 10 hits and eight earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

“He fell behind everybody in Baltimore,” Cash said. “I think just new team, getting acclimated. We didn’t put too much value on it. He got hit a little bit hard, but he also gave up a lot of bleeders in there. The line looked a lot uglier than probably what it was. But a lot of credit to him to not hang his head and keep his poise. He continues to get better and show improvement every single time he goes out.”

In 19 innings over his next four appearances, however, he’s surrendered only seven hits and five earned runs while walking seven and fanning 18. During that span, he’s gone 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA. Beeks said the Rays have worked with him on keeping his drive leg more on line and getting ahead in the count.

Meanwhile, Eovaldi is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts with the Sox. The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to start on Tuesday night against Cleveland.

“We sat there with Beeks,” Cash said, “and told him, ‘You’re going to be a part of us going forward, relax. We’re not looking to jockey you back and forth from Triple-A to the big leagues,’ and wanted him to know that every fifth day he was going to get an opportunity to pitch. I think that probably settles any young player’s mind.”

“It’s comforting,” Beeks said.