Josh Beckett: Back into form

Despite the loss last night, Josh Beckett was impressive, striking out a career-high 13 batters.
Beckett started slow this year, sidelined by a lower back strain and was activated April 6th. His debut against the Toronto Blue Jays was less than impressive, but has consistently raised the bar each following start. On the year, his ERA stands at a less than impressive 4.10, but his ERA has fallen each and every start.
He started off with 4.2 IP, dominating the Blue Jays before tiring and giving up five runs on four walks and six strikeouts with three hits. He would then face the Yankees twice in a row. The first time, at home, he went 6.2 IP, giving up three runs, walking one and whiffing five and giving up five hits. In the Bronx, he went eight innings of 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 6 H.
Beckett then went seven innings last night giving up a scant four hits and one walk to 13 strikeouts, but an error and a home run to Evan Longoria sealed the game.
A noticeable trend that Beckett has improved as the year went on (sans the Rays game, thanks to the 13 K’s) is his groundball-to-flyball ratio. Against Toronto, his ratio was 5/5. Against New York in Boston, it was 7/8. Now, these numbers are not good because the more fly balls you give up, the greater chance those fly balls end up in the stands. In a perfect world, you want a groundballin’ strikeout machine. Like say, Brandon Webb. Who happens to be 6-0 so far.
You don’t generally want someone who gives up a lot of groundballs but doesn’t strike out much because the more a batter makes contact with the ball, the more chance they have to get a hit. But someone who gets groundballs AND strikeouts? Now there’s your ace, and Beckett came through in the Bronx with 14 groundballs and eight flyballs. The number went down to 4/4 against the Rays, but it came with another number: 13. Strikeouts.
As a matter of fact, those 13 strikeouts are the most any pitcher has tossed so far this year. Niiiiiiiice. (In the NL, Chad Billingsley paces with 12 and there are at least nine more — the list cut off after that — with either 11 or 10. Compare that with the A.L. where there’s only two with 11 (C.C. Sabathia) or 10 (Felix Hernandez). That makes Beckett’s feat all that much more impressive.
Two years ago, Beckett got over 200 innings for the first time in his career, but it came with an unsightly 5.01 ERA. Despite three less starts last year, he also cracked the 20-IP barrier last year, but also won 20 games to seven losses and a.3.27 ERA. Part of me wondered if he’d fall back to earth a bit this year. All indications so far point to a very emphatic no.
What do you think? Can we rely on another Cy-worthy season from The Texas Gunslinger?