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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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BOSTON STRONG -
For the Sox, Clay Buchholz took another step toward full recovery from a bursa sac injury that kept him out of action for more than three months. With the American League East title wrapped up and a 1 1/2-game lead over the A's for best record and postseason home-field advantage, Buchholz's progress in pitch count might have trumped the outcome, as he lost his first game of the season. In his third start since June 8, Buchholz was brilliant at times, shaky at other points, but completed six strong innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out two. Through the first three innings, Buchholz might as well have flipped the calendar back to April. The first at-bat of the game had beauty in itself. Buchholz worked Blue Jays' leadoff man and former National League batting champion Jose Reyes to a full count before dropping a 92-mph two-seam fastball through the bottom of the strike zone. Buchholz was perfect through three innings before some defensive miscues and spotty command cost him a few runs in the fourth. With two outs, rookie third baseman Xander Bogaerts double-clutched on a routine grounder before making a late throw to first base, beaten by the hustling Brett Lawrie. Three hits later, the Blue Jays had a 3-0 lead. While the Red Sox were impressed by Buchholz's power and pitch sharpness, his command has been a work in progress. Still, 106 pitches was a big number. Buchholz asked for another inning, but manager John Farrell advised against it. Buchholz has one more start to make in a pre-postseason tuneup. In 17 innings since returning from the disabled list, Buchholz has allowed 11 hits while striking out 11, walking seven and posting a 1.06 ERA. On the offensive side, the Red Sox's thin lineup had a hard time against veteran lefty Mark Buehrle, who has a 3.31 ERA in five starts against them this season. Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp were all out of the lineup as the Red Sox took advantage of the luxury to rest even their best players in the team's final regular-season games. The day after clinching the American League East title, Red Sox manager John Farrell began the process of getting extra rest for some of his regulars. Conflicting with those plans, however, is the team's desire to finish with the AL's best record and get the home-field advantage in the postseason that goes with it. Pedroia might have been due for some rest. He had played in 154 of the team's 155 games before Saturday, and he made a pinch-hitting appearance in the seventh inning before remaining in the game at second base. Saltalamacchia was finally catching a breather rather than catching fastballs. He's been behind the plate for 974 innings this season, in which he's had an offensive breakthrough, posting the highest OPS (.788) of his career. Ross, his replacement, had an electric night defensively. Ross gunned down all three runners attempting to steal. Reyes, Rajai Davis and Anthony Gose were the victims. Ross has successfully thrown out 13-of-32 (41 percent) of attempted basestealers this season. Will Middlebrooks made a seamless transition across the diamond in his first career start at first base, a position he's trying to learn to give the team added flexibility in late-game scenarios. And Ryan Dempster pitched a scoreless inning in relief. It was the first time since 2007 that he's pitched out of the bullpen. A closer for the Cubs for three years, the 36-year-old right-hander was moved to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch for the American League-leading 19th time this season. |
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