Beckett gets the better of Rays

Boston right-hander Josh Beckett, knocked around in last year’s American League championship series by Tampa Bay, struck out 10 Rays in seven innings of two-hit ball to lead the Red Sox to a 5-3 win in a makeup of their rained-out opener.

For Beckett, who was recovering from a side strain in the playoffs, it was a chance to show the form that made him a 20-game winner in 2007.

“He did not make it easy for us,” Rays Manager Joe Maddon said.

AL MVP Dustin Pedroia homered on the second pitch he saw this season, and Jason Varitek also homered to help Boston get off to a fast start against the team that edged it by two games for the AL East title last year.