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BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Buchholz and the Red Sox
take a five inning rain game
June
2, 2013 ...
Boston's ace right-hander, Clay Buchholz, stepped back on the mound tonight fired five shutout innings, while leading the Red Sox to a rain-shortened 3-0 victory over the Yankees in the rubber match of a three-game series in the Bronx.
In his first 11 starts of 2013, Buchholz is 8-0 with a Major League-leading 1.62 ERA. The only thing that could stop Buchholz was the rain, which halted play while the Red Sox were batting in the top of the sixth and limited Buchholz's performance to just
the five innings and 71 pitches. Once the game was finally called for good after a third delay that took place in the bottom of the sixth inning, it meant that Buchholz was credited with a complete-game shutout, the fourth of his career. Buchholz
hadn't pitched since May 22 because of irritation in his right AC joint, but there was no evidence of rust.
Buchholz and Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda pitched to a 0-0 stalemate over the first three innings. The Red Sox rallied in the fourth when Dustin Pedroia led off with a single up the middle and Ortiz followed with a single to right that put runners at
the corners with nobody out. Mike Napoli hit a fielder's-choice grounder to short that scored Pedroia for the first run of the game.
Jose Iglesias, who has tormented the Yankees consistently this season, opened the fifth by belting a home run to left. It was the first homer of 2013 for Iglesias, and the second of his career. Iglesias is hitting .434 in 53 at-bats. In the sixth, it
was Ortiz who found a pitch he liked from Kuroda and walloped it into the second deck in right-center, giving Buchholz a 3-0 lead.
Two batters after the Ortiz homer, the game went into a 37-minute rain delay. Play resumed long enough for the Yankees to get out of the top of the sixth. Four minutes later, play again was halted, this time for good. Ortiz's homer, his 10th on the
year, counted in the books, making it a 3-0 final score.
The Sox are 4-2 against the Yankees this season, outscoring them, 32-15, and winning two series, both in New York. At 35-23, the Red Sox are 12 games over .500 for the third time this season. They dropped the Yankees (31-25) into third place in the
American League East. New York has lost seven of its last eight games.
On Friday, the Red Sox were confident that Shane Victorino would come off the disabled list, the first day he is eligible. But that will not be the case. Victorino did some short sprints in the outfield before the game and said he was running at only
60 percent. Victorino said his strained left hamstring has healed but he needs time to build up to game speed.
Righthander Daniel Bard has not pitched for Double A Portland since May 15 because of control problems. He has been throwing in the bullpen and remains on the roster. |
