Josh Beckett had been dominating in his last three starts, going 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA. But he struggled last night.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

BOSTON — With an October-like chill teasing the Fenway Faithful last night, Josh Beckett’s favorite time of the year is just over a week away.

Maybe that’s why the Red Sox’ ace was not exactly a happy camper after a 4-3 loss to the Indians. Beckett pitched an uneven six innings, leaving with a 4-2 deficit. The Cleveland bullpen then shut down several Sox rallies over the final three innings to preserve the win and keep Boston’s pending playoff celebration on hold for at least another night.

Beckett said he thought he pitched fairly well but mistakes of his own cost him. His season record stands at a very average 12-10.

“I think I gave up three hard-hit balls. I can’t really complain about that,” he said. “They placed some balls where people weren’t. But we lost.”

With only one scheduled start remaining before the commencement of next week’s playoffs, this was not what Beckett was hoping for. He prides himself on winning the Red Sox’ biggest games and last night was certainly one of those opportunities, but the right-hander let it slip away.

Beckett did not pitch poorly. He just wasn’t the dominant hurler the Red Sox need, especially in the playoffs. He allowed four runs in six innings, with his biggest problems coming thanks to three ill-timed hit-by-pitches. In the second inning, he allowed a two-out double, then hit two straight Indians to load the bases. Asdrubal Cabrera, the Indians’ ninth hitter, then drew a walk to push in the game’s first run.

In the three-run fifth inning, Beckett gave up four hits and hit yet another batter. He left an inning later after throwing 104 pitches.

Afterward, Beckett was most upset about his second-inning troubles. He was especially peeved by the first hit-batsmen when a heavily padded Ryan Garko appeared to lean into a 1-2 pitch on the inside corner. Beckett then hit Kelly Shoppach and walked Cabrera to force in the run.

“I don’t think I had control difficulties,” he said. “One guy had damn body armor on the whole left side of his body. I get 1-2 on him and he lays over the plate and it hits him in his elbow pad. Whether or not he has a doctor’s note for it or not, I don’t know.

“I don’t think that pitch was that far off the plate. It is what it is. I had two more batters to get one out and I couldn’t get it done,” he said.

That run proved to be the difference in the game, according to Beckett.

“It’s frustrating because I think that run — more than any of them — was the difference in the game and we lost by one run,” he said.

Beckett came into last night on a roll. Ever since he’s returned from a stint on the disabled list due to numbness and tingling in his throwing arm, he’s pitched fantastically. Over three starts, he was 1-0 with a 0.95 earned run average. Included was a dominant effort at Tampa Bay last week when he limited the Rays to three hits and one run over eight innings.

“It’s nothing mechanical. I think he’s pitching without worrying about his elbow or things like that,” said manager Terry Francona. “I just think he was able to take a deep breath when he came back and that was really good for him.”

While every fall is different, Beckett and the playoffs have made for a very successful combination. In 10 postseason games, the 28-year-old owns a 6-2 record and a 1.73 earned run average. In his last five starts, he’s a perfect 5-0 with an unheard of 0.92 ERA.

That’s the pitcher Red Sox fans are counting on next week. The question is can Beckett live up to such lofty expectations?

Beckett is scheduled to make his final start of the regular season on Saturday against the Yankees. Of course, things could change depending on how the race for the A.L. East title with Tampa unfolds.

“We’ve done a lot of thinking (about it,) but common sense says if we have a chance to win the division we’re not going to skip him or pull him out in the third inning so we could lose the game,” said Francona. “We’ll use common sense and as we get further down the week, depending on how we play and how the team ahead of us plays, we’ll make decisions as we need to.”

kmcnamar@projo.com