A.L. aces prepare to deal

BOSTON – Even when they lose, Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia can seem unbeatable.

The hard-throwing Cy Young award candidates had outstanding outings on consecutive days in late July. Both struck out seven and allowed one run and no walks – but ended up losing 1-0 decisions.

And they came against each other’s teams.

The Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians meet again tonight, and now their aces square off against each other in the opener of the American League Championship Series.

“They were great ballgames to watch, old-school baseball,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said Thursday. “It’s feasible for something like that to happen again.”

That loss in Cleveland on July 25 in which Beckett pitched an eight-inning complete game, but Game 2 starter Fausto Carmona was just a little better, probably didn’t provide much help for today’s outing.

“They’ve got a couple new guys so you’ve just got to go at it as a new game,” Beckett said.

Beckett was 20-7 this season, the first 20-game winner in the majors since 2005, with a 3.27 ERA. He pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout in the opener of the A.L. division series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Sabathia’s 1-0 loss in Cleveland the day before Beckett’s setback came against Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is set to pitch the third game against Jake Westbrook.

The Indians lefty finished at 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA but labored in his team’s playoff opener, throwing 114 pitches in five innings. Still, he got the win in the 12-3 rout of the New York Yankees.

“It was just a case of me overthrowing,” Sabathia said. “It was the first game against the Yankees, first game of the playoffs, (my) first playoff game in six years, so I was excited.”

He’s not alone.

Despite his postseason success – three shutouts in six starts and the MVP award of the 2003 World Series with Florida – Beckett feels the jitters on days he pitches, too.

“All day is kind of like an anxiety-type deal for me,” he said. “I think it’s a little more during the playoffs, but after you throw your first pitch, it’s back to executing pitch by pitch by pitch.”

Both teams finished at 96-66, the best record in baseball, but Boston gained home-field advantage by winning the season series 5-2.