"All along, Josh Beckett expressed confidence that the balky left knee that prompted him to be scratched from his scheduled All-Star Game appearance wouldn't prevent him from starting here tomorrow night.

Yesterday, he got the assurance he needed.

Beckett played catch and threw off flat ground under the supervision of both Red Sox pitching coach Curt Young and head athletic trainer Mike Reinold, then pronounced himself fit to start the finale of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow night.

"Everything's good," Beckett said, "just like I said it was."

It has been eight days since the Sox' ace right-hander suffered a mild hyperextension of his left knee when he lost his footing on the wet mound at Fenway Park. At the time, Beckett didn't believe the injury was serious, and after throwing a bullpen session last Sunday, he was cleared to pitch in the All-Star Game."