Major League Baseball

Red Sox 7, Cardinals 6

Published Mar. 8, 2010 11:35 p.m. ET

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Josh Beckett made his second start of spring training, and Red Sox pitchers kept the St. Louis Cardinals hitless into the seventh inning.

But it was Boston's young hitters who pulled out the win on Monday.

Che-Shuan Lin's one-out single in the ninth scored Josh Reddick after Reddick doubled in the tying run, and the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 7-6.

Reddick was 2 for 3 with two RBI, and shortstop Jose Iglesias, a Cuban defector and one of Boston's top prospects, hit a three-run homer.

``That's exactly what those young guys are here for,'' said manager Terry Francona. ``Some of these guys are not here to make the club. They know that. They're going to get ready for a long season wherever they're playing.''

Iglesias, who signed with the Red Sox in September and is in his first spring training camp, said - with infielder Gil Velazquez acting as an interpreter - that he feels comfortable in his new surroundings.

Although he speaks very little English, Iglesias replied in English when asked what has been the most fun for him this spring: ``My first home run.''

Beckett did not allow a hit over three scoreless innings and struck out three. In five total innings this spring, Beckett has given up just one run.

``I felt like I located. I got the ball down well. I got some ground balls in the first inning and really had my legs under me in the second,'' Beckett said.

Francona was also pleased with Beckett's outing.

``He was really good,'' Francona said. ``Fastball, changeup. He threw a couple of the best changeups I've seen. A couple of good breaking balls. He was really good. He went down and threw 15 more in the bullpen just to try and stretch it out a little bit because he's got an extra day till his next (start). But he was really good.''

Chris Carpenter made his first appearance of the spring for the Cardinals. He went two innings, giving up a run on four hits with a strikeout and no walks.

``I came into today wanting to get into a real-game situation, and controlling your body in that situation is obviously what you work toward. This is obviously another level up compared to live BP. I felt like I did what I needed to do,'' Carpenter said. ``I made some good pitches with my fastball. Obviously I left some in the middle of the plate, too. That's going to happen. My breaking ball was inconsistent. But I got accomplished what I needed to.''

The Red Sox took an early lead on single runs in the second and fifth innings. But the Cardinals went ahead on a run in the seventh and two in the eighth until Iglesias' home run gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead in the eighth.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the top of the ninth, loading the bases as Nick Stavinoha and Matt Pagnozzi singled and Tyler Greene reached on an error. Matt Hamilton and Donovan Solano followed with run-scoring singles, and another run came across when Shane Robinson was hit by a pitch.

Three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols was expected to make the cross-state trip but was scratched because of discomfort in his back. He had a scheduled day off on Sunday, and is not expected to play Tuesday against the Twins in Fort Myers.

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