Fear not.

The Red Sox will still make the playoffs, and Josh Beckett’s right arm remains their biggest weapon once there.

Doubts? There weren’t any coming from those who might know a thing or two about a thing or two.

“I didn’t see anything,” said Cleveland third baseman Jamey Carroll, “that would make me say he wasn’t the same dominant guy.”

There will be a measure of the population that view Monday night’s Red Sox’ 4-3 loss to the Indians at Fenway Park as the latest warning shot across the team’s post-season Fun-time Express. Gasp! Beckett, the pitcher who serves as the dividing line between Boston and its October opponents, gave up runs, four of them to be exact.

The hint of mortality became even more prevalent when realizing Beckett had actually hit a career-high three batters, including Ryan Garko and Kelly Shoppach in back-to-back at-bats.

For most, the misgivings -- long with the seven hits over six innings -- would be a seemingly innocuous occurrence. But in many corners, mortality isn’t an option for Beckett at this time of year.

Well, this is the reality: the Red Sox ace distanced himself enough from the ordinary that the anxious patrons leaving Fenway could focus on the pitfalls that await thanks to potential holes in the Sox’ lineup.

Start with the day after Beckett’s last – and much more encouraging – start. The pitcher felt back to normal, extolling the virtues of having rediscovered his old arm strength. Flash forward to what figures to be the hurler’s second-to-last regular season outing, when his velocity sat at 94-95 mph in the opening few frames, a tick above any of the previous four outings since coming off the 15-day disabled list.

As Beckett drew closer to his 105th, and final, pitch of the night, the right-hander’s heat dissipated slightly, but, according to the hitters defining the pitcher’s fate, the rest of the ace’s repertoire did nothing to encourage disappointment.

The Indians recognized this wasn’t the last image of Beckett they came across, last Oct. 19 in Cleveland. Yet finding that Game 5, 11-strikeout portrait isn’t necessarily a necessary thing.

“I thought he looked really good,” said Indians first baseman Ryan Garko. “He mixed in his curveball, like he did last year, and had a really good fastball. I thought he was the same. His velocity might have been up a little bit (in last year’s playoff game), but that was the playoffs and the adrenaline is pumping a bit more for everybody.”

Beckett understood the priorities of the evening, along with the challenges that were likely to arrive. This was an Indians team that leads the majors in pitches taken per at-bat (3.96), a far cry from his last opponent, Tampa Bay, a much less patient group.

If he wakes up Tuesday, can still eliminate any use for description of arm ailments, and remains trending back to his usual five-day routine, then Monday night can be taken for what it appeared to be – another stepping stone, albeit one a bit more unstable than most Sox followers would prefer.

“I gave up three hard hit balls,” he said. “I don’t think you can really complain about that.”