Beckett sharp despite skirmish, performance by ex-girlfriend

CLEVELAND – First, Josh Beckett’s ex-girlfriend showed up. Sure enough, the Boston ace got into an argument – with Kenny Lofton.

Beckett took exception to Lofton’s antics at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 5 of the A.L. Championship Series Thursday night, screaming at him and prompting both benches and bullpens to clear. No punches were thrown and nobody was ejected, and both teams left the field after a few minutes of milling about.

Beckett stayed sharp after the brief skirmish, limiting the Cleveland Indians to one run over eight innings in Boston’s 7-1 victory.

Pitching keep the Red Sox alive, Beckett was thrown a curveball before the game even started. The Cleveland Indians enlisted country singer and Ohio native Danielle Peck to sing the national anthem and “God Bless America.”

No big deal – except Peck used to date Beckett. There’s even a picture of her wearing a Red Sox T-shirt and hat on her Web site.

“An incredible coincidence,” Indians vice president Bob DiBiasio said. “Honestly.”

Peck was simply filling in for Taylor Swift, another country star who was originally scheduled to handle the singing duties.

“(Peck’s) record company called and said she’s got Ohio ties and we said, ‘Perfect’,” DiBiasio said.