Buchholz got the ball in the top of the first and struck out Desmond Jennings to start the game. Ben Zobrist grounded out and Evan Longoria struck out to end the inning. Alex Cobb got the ball in the bottom of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury lined out and Shane Victorino grounded out but Dustin Pedroia singled. Pedroia swiped second but Mike Napoli flied out to end the inning.
Matt Joyce struck out to begin the top of the second inning. Yunel Escobar grounded out but old friend James Loney walked and stole second. Jose Molina whiffed to end the inning. Cobb matched Buchholz in the bottom of the second. Daniel Nava flied out and Will Middlebrooks grounded out, but Stephen Drew walked and Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to end the inning.
Buchholz cruised in the top of the third. Kelly Johnson and Sam Fuld both struck out then Jennings lined out to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third. Ellsbury singled and Victorino caught the Rays napping with a bunt single of his own. Pedroia singled to load the bases and Napoli drove home both Ellsbury and Victorino with a double. Nava was hit with a pitch to re-load the bases but Pedroia was out at home on a force by Middlebrooks. Drew hit a picture perfect double play ball that was thrown into Landsdowne Street by Escobar, allowing Napoli and Nava to score. Saltalamacchia struck out to end the inning but the Sox led 4-0.
The Rays tried to answer in the top of the fourth when Zobrist worked a lead-off walk. Longoria whiffed as Zobrist swiped second base. Joyce whiffed and Escobar flied out to end the inning. Cobb recovered in the bottom of the fourth. JBJ and Ellsbury both struck out and Victorino grounded out to end the inning.
Buchholz cruised in the top of the fifth. Loney flied out, Molina grounded out and Johnson struck out to end the inning. Cobb matched Buchholz in the bottom of the fifth. Pedroia grounded out, Napoli struck out and Nava flied out to end the inning.
Clay ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Fuld walked and advanced to second on the Jennings ground out. Zobrist walked and Fuld advanced to third on the Longoria fly out. Joyce grounded out to end the inning. Clay was pitching a no-hitter. Middlebrooks greeted Cobb with a single to begin the bottom of the sixth. Drew whiffed and Saltalamacchia flied out....then Middlebrooks was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning.
Clay cruised in the top of the seventh. Escobar struck out, Loney grounded out and Molina struck out to end the inning. He was just 6 outs from a no-hitter. Cobb returned for the bottom of the seventh and whiffed JBJ. Ellsbury grounded out but Victorino walked to chase Cobb. If it wasn't for the bad throw by Escobar, it would still be a 2-0 game, bad luck for Cobb. Jamey Wright replaced him and picked off Victorino to end the inning.
Buchholz returned for the top of the eighth and Johnson greeted him with a single to break up the no-no, only to be erased on the Fuld double play. Jennings doubled but Zobrist flied out to end the inning. Buchholz had tossed an 8 inning shutout on 109 pitches, outstanding.
The Sox didn't need to score anymore runs but they did anyway in the bottom of the eighth. Pedroia doubled and Napoli moved him to third with a ground-out. Inexplicably, Nava was intentionally walked. Middlebrooks made the Rays pay for their insolence with a sac fly that scored Pedroia to make it 5-0. Drew grounded out to end the inning.
Andrew Miller had mop-up duty in the top of the ninth. Longoria singled and Shelley Duncan pinch hit for Joyce only to bang into a double play. Escobar looked at strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-0.
Hero of the Night is easy. Clay Buchholz was masterful by tossing 8 shut-out innings scattering 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out 11. He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.
The Good:
Shane Victorino was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 4 with a run scored. Will Middlebrooks was 1 for 3 with an rbi. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 1 for 3. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. He's hitting a miserable .107 so far this year.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 with a run scored. Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with a run scored, but knocked in two runs. Daniel Nava was 0 for 2 but walked and scored. Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was an amazing performance by Buchholz and hopefully he can continue to pitch like this for a while. With John Lackey on the shelf, the Sox are going to have to depend on Jon Lester and Buchholz to carry the load. So far each has done their job. In the era of the double wild-card, every win counts so the Sox are off to a great start, even if the team wasn't built to win. Any win without David Ortiz is a bonus until he returns. Tomorrow morning the Sox look for the series sweep in their annual Patriots Day game. Ryan Dempster takes the mound opposite Jeremy Hellickson at 11:05 AM.
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