Home runs allowed plague Josh Beckett

A quick glance at Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett's numbers indicate he's having a problem keeping the baseball in the yard this season. Beckett has surrendered six home runs through four starts, which gives him a career-worst 2.2 home runs per nine innings rate.

According to FanGraphs.com, Beckett's xFIP, which replaces a pitcher's home run total with an estimate of how many home runs they should have allowed, is 3.88, so it seems with a few less home runs Beckett's numbers wouldn't look that bad.

If Beckett follows history, then his numbers should come down. His career HR/9 is 1.0 and his career home run to fly ball ratio is 10.9 percent. It's currently at 19.4 percent through four starts. This is really the big anamoly in Beckett's numbers. In the one start he didn't allow a home run this season, he yielded one run and struck out nine in 8 1/3 innings. 

Beckett's next start is Friday against Milwaukee. The Brewers have hit 17 home runs in 16 games, which is right on the league average. Beckett still might be startable in deeper formats (starting in 45 percent of leagues) because he will oppose Brewers pitcher Wily Peralta, who is also struggling, so a win is possible for the veteran Beckett. 

My point, however, is that I'm willing to give Beckett a few more starts to iron out his home run problem before I throw in the towel and give up hope.