"The Red Sox dodged a bullet last night when word came that Josh Beckett "only'' has a sprained ankle.

When Beckett pitches next remains unknown, but with three weeks to go before the playoffs, the chance of him participating looks much brighter than it did after there was only worry and speculation when he left Monday's start in the fourth inning.

Beckett flew to Boston yesterday to be examined by the Red Sox medical staff and the team's foot and ankle specialist, Dr. George Theodore. In a statement from team medical director Dr. Tom Gill, the Sox pretty much repeated the initial diagnosis of a sprained ankle that was dispensed Monday night.

"Josh experienced pain in his ankle while pitching (Monday) night,'' the statement read. "His examination was consistent with an ankle sprain. An MRI was performed that confirmed no other injury to his ankle tendons, or his Achilles tendon. We will re-evaluate his symptoms and availability later this week.""