Josh Beckett

It has been a special 2014 season for the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, but they received some unfortunate news Friday regarding starting pitcher Josh Beckett. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com filled fans in on the latest:

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett is in the midst of a great season, but it appears that a hip injury will slow him down temporarily.   

The Dodgers announced Tuesday that they added their starter to the disabled list:

The Los Angeles Dodgers recently recorded 17 consecutive innings of hitless pitching, setting a team record since the franchise moved to Los Angeles, per the team's official Twitter account.

During the Los Angeles Dodgers' amazing 62-28 run to finish the 2013 regular season, it's no surprise that the team's top two starting pitchers—Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu—completely dominated. 

The eventual Cy Young award winner, Kershaw went 11-4 with a 1.61 ERA in 17 starts while holding opposing hitters to a .503 OPS. Greinke went 12-2 in 19 starts while holding opposing hitters to a .589 OPS.

After missing the month of June with thoracic outlet syndrome that caused numbness in his pitching hand, Josh Beckett appears headed for the disabled list for the remainder of the season.

There may be bad news on the horizon for the Boston Red Sox. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett made an early departure from Tuesday night's contest against Detroit.

Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson reported on the situation:

Remember back in May when Josh Beckett was embroiled in a PR snafu that involved an ill-timed golf outing?

He was supposed to be resting a sore lat muscle but hit the links instead. The worst part about it was that he missed a start.

The Boston Red Sox have managed to string together five wins in a row.

Over the course of the last several games, the team has only allowed eight runs, while scoring 34 of their own, showing that the offense is clearly clicking at the right time as well.

While I think it would be a bit premature to say that the team is set to tear up the rest of baseball, there are still some positives that can be drawn from the performance of the pitching staff.

Although the Boston Red Sox have won their last four games, they currently sit in last place in the AL East with a 16-19 record. Many pundits have counted them out for the season and expect they’ll finish around .500 or below.

The reality is that while the Red Sox have gotten off to a slow start this season, they will be competing for the top spot in the division well into September.

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are tied for first place in the American League East heading into their series-finale on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (ET) at historic Fenway Park.

Boston holds a significant 9-2 advantage over New York in the season series, including a 10-4 home victory on Saturday afternoon.