ATLANTA –– The fact Josh Beckett had been bothered by "intestinal turmoil" and some "throat stuff" all week didn’t stifle his ability to dominate the Atlanta Braves –– again.

After tossing a complete-game five-hitter against the Braves last weekend at Fenway Park, the Sox’ right-hander followed it up with another solid outing to help Boston to a 4-1 victory at Turner Field on Friday night.

Beckett worked seven scoreless innings and allowed six hits with no walks and six strikeouts. With the victory, he’s 6-0 with a 0.38 E.R.A. against the Braves since 2005. In 47 innings, he’s collected 37 strikeouts and has surrendered only two runs during the stretch.

"I’m just trying to do the same thing every time," Beckett said. "Tonight I made pitches when I needed to."

Friday night he was dominant.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Beckett could have worked the eighth inning, but after 98 pitches and with an upset stomach, he was done.

"There’s no reason to push," said Francona. "He was good."

As much as Beckett wanted to go out for another inning, the cramps were telling him something else.

"It would have been nice to get through eight," he said. "Position players have to stay out there through it. It wasn’t the ideal situation for me. I made pitches when I needed to and had good defense."

The players behind him have had a very good view of his solid performances all season. And it seems Beckett gets stronger every time out.

"He’s been great," said Dustin Pedroia. "You can tell his confidence is up there when he gets the ball. He’s been giving us six or seven innings of quality every time out. He’s huge for us."

jmcdonal@projo.com