Adrian Gonzalez homered, but Hiroki Kuroda mastered the Sox.
Carl Crawford grounds out in the first inning of Sunday's Red Sox-Yankees game in New York. On Monday, the Red Sox will decide whether to shut down the outfielder for elbow surgery.NEW YORK - If Josh Beckett was going to lose another one, at least it was two future Hall of Famers who did him in.
Well, Hiroki Kuroda had a part in it, too.
Two long doubles by Derek Jeter and two home runs by Ichiro Suzuki produced plenty of offense for Kuroda, who barely broke a sweat in New York's 4-1 victory over the Red Sox Sunday night.
"I made some bad pitches to two guys. Some things were better tonight, but the same (lousy) results,'' Beckett said.
He didn't actually say "lousy.'' Beckett used a harsher, more vulgar term to describe his own work, even on a night his manager tried to speak in positive tones.
"I thought Josh had some of the best stuff he's had in awhile,'' Bobby Valentine said.
"He had a good curve, his fastball and cutter were good. Jeter and Ichiro did him in.''
The Red Sox offense was no help, either. For the sixth time in a 4-6 road trip, they scored fewer than four runs.
They are 13-19 since David Ortiz went on the disabled list for an Achilles strain in mid-July.
"Obviously, it would be better to see David in there. We lost Will Middlebrooks at the beginning (of the trip), and we've been remaking the bottom of the lineup,'' Valentine said.
"That's put a strain on the guys in the middle. Everyone has had good at-bats, but we're not stringing them together.''
After the game, Ortiz said he expected to return during the seven-game homestand that begins Tuesday.
"I won't play Tuesday, but I'm getting closer,'' said Ortiz, who took batting practice Sunday.
"I have to start running first, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel.''
That is why Ortiz said he has never considered shutting down for the season, despite an Achilles strain that was supposed to sideline him for two weeks, and has kept him out for five.
Boston's No. 5, 6 and 9 hitters were Ryan Lavarnway (.107), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.226) and Nick Punto (.197).
The No. 7 and 8 men were Scott Podsednik (.363) and Pedro Ciriaco (.343), whose gaudy averages came with limited at-bats and a lack of power.
In what might have been his season's swan song, Carl Crawford went 1-for-4. He singled sharply up the middle in the ninth in what may have been his last at-bat of 2012.
The outfielder's tender elbow will be the subject of meetings with Red Sox executives and the medical staff Monday, when a decision on whether to have him undergo season-ending surgery will be made.
"I don't know what the decision will be, though from what I gather, the elbow is trending in the wrong direction. But Carl has given us everything he's had,'' Valentine said.
Adrian Gonzalez homered off Kuroda in the seventh. The first baseman has 15, with nine in the last 33 games.
Whenever the enigmatic Beckett pitches, though, the focus of attention usually falls on him. In six innings Sunday, he allowed four runs on seven hits, three walks and a wild pitch that let in a run. 
With Clay Buchholz pitching splendidly and Jon Lester back on track, the top of the Red Sox rotation would resemble what was expected of it - if Beckett could hold up his end.
Instead, he is 0-4 in his last six starts and 1-7 since May 31. His record has fallen to 5-11 with an ERA of 5.23.
Even vintage Beckett would have made little difference against Kuroda, who has quietly become the most reliable Japanese pitcher in the majors.
His season is Beckett in reverse. Rebounding from a slow start, Kuroda is 12-8 with a 2.96 ERA, and he is 9-2 since May 27.
He allowed one run and four hits in eighth innings. He got a quick lead when Jeter doubled and scored on Curtis Granderson's double in the first.
"That was another stupid pitch by me,'' Becketts said of the Granderson hit.
Beckett has allowed 23 first-inning runs, and is tied with San Francisco's Tim Lincecum for the major league lead.
Beckett wild-pitched Jeter home in the third. Suzuki's home run in the fourth made it 3-0.
In the sixth, Suzuki's second homer of the game was almost identical to his first, a drive to right field.
Suzuki had played 25 previous games with the Yankees, with one home run to show for 88 plate appearances.
"He hit two fastballs that were up. Most of the hits he's had off me have come on pitches outside the strike zone, but not tonight,'' Beckett said.