Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Buchholz,Sox Pound Jays (5/1/13)

What a day for Boston sports. The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their first round NBA playoff series and the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their first round NHL playoff series. As for baseball, how about those first place Boston Red Sox? It seems that this team that wasn't designed to win is firing on all cylanders lately. After going 18-8 in the month of April, they started off May with another dominating win. Clay Buchholz (6-0, 1.01 ERA) is having a Pedro Martinez-esque start to this year as the shut down the Toronto Blue Jays for 7 innings. The bats pitched in as well as they romped 10-1 at Skydome.
                                                       Kevin Garnett approves of the win

Mark Buehrle (1-2) got the ball to start the top of the first and Jacoby Ellsbury greeted him with a single. Jonny Gomes flied out and Ellsbury got picked off....or he would have if Buehrle didn't throw the ball away, allowing Jacoby to reach second. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz flied out to end the inning. Buchholz started strong in the bottom of the first. Brett Lawrie grounded out but Colby Rasmus walked. Jose Bautista struck out and Edwin Encarnarcion flied out to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning. Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava flied out but Will Middlebrooks was hit with a pitch. Stephen "PU" Drew then shocked Red Sox nation by swatting a 2 run home run to put the Sox on top 2-0. That was Drew's first home run of the year. David Ross flied out to end the inning. Buchholz made sure Toronto didn't answer in the bottom of the second. Adam Lind, Melky Cabrera and JP Arencibia all grounded out in short order to end the inning.
                                    Drew rounds the bases, check out the empty seats.

The Sox threatened in the top of the third inning. Ellsbury grounded out but Gomes walked. Jacoby was erased on the force by Pedroia and Ortiz grounded out to end the inning. Buchholz stayed tough in the bottom of the third, Maicer Izturis struck out but Munenori Kawasaki singled. Lawrie and Rasmus struck out to end the inning.

The Sox showed some power in the top of the fourth. Napoli and Nava cracked back to back home runs to increase the lead 4-0. Middlebrooks singled but PU Drew banged into a double play. Ross grounded out to end the inning. The Jays failed to respond in the bottom of the fourth. Bautista walked but Encarnarcion struck out. Lind and Cabrera flied out to end the inning.
                                                                Back to back Jacks

Buehrle settled down in the top of the fifth. Ellsbury struck out, Gomes flied out and Pedroia popped up in short order to end the inning. Buchholz cruised in the bottom of the fifth. Arencibia and Izturis grounded out and Kawasaki struck out to end the inning.

Buehrle returned for the top of the sixth inning. Ortiz doubled and Napoli walked but Nava flied out. Middlebrooks singled to load the bases but rally killer extraordinaire PU Drew hit into another double play to end the inning. Buchholz dominated the bottom of the sixth. Lawrie grounded out, Rasmus popped up and Bautista struck out to end the inning.

The Sox broke it open in the top of the seventh inning. Ross grounded out and Ellsbury lined out, but Gomes walked to chase Buehre. Esmil Rogers replaced Mark and crapped himself much to Sox fans delight. Pedoria singled Gomes to third and a wild pitch by Rogers scored Jonny. Ortiz was then intentionally walked and Napoli made the Jays pay belting a 3 run blast to break the game wide open. Nava lined out but it was now 8-0.
                                               "We got this bitch, Papi" - Napoli

Buchholz went one more inning and got Encarnarcion to fly out to start the bottom of the seventh. Lind walked and Cabrera singled him to third only to be thrown out at second trying to stretch into a double. Arencibia struck out to end the inning. Buchholz had tossed 7 shut out innings allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks. Amazing!
                                                       Another shut-out for Buchholz

Justin Germano was brought in to pitch the top of the eighth. Middlebrooks whiffed but PU Drew singled. Ross hit a ground rule double but Drew was stranded on back to back ground outs by Ellsbury and Gomes to end the inning. Rookie Alex Wilson got the call in the bottom of the eighth. Izturis singled but Kawasaki struck out. Lawrie tripled home Izturis to break up the shutout. Rasmus struck out but Bautista walked to chase Wilson. Clayton "Vigo" Mortensen came in to finish the inning. Encarnarcion grounded out to end the inning with the score 8-1.

The Sox weren't done scoring in the top of the ninth. Pedroia grounded out and Mike Carp pinch hit for Ortiz and blasted a solo home run. Napoli hit a ground rule double and Nava singled him in. Middlebrooks popped up but Drew singled. Ross popped up to end the inning with the Sox up 10-1. Mortensen returned for the bottom of the ninth. Mike Carp took over at first meaning the Sox had lost the DH, but since it was a 9 run lead, that didn't matter. Lind walked and Mark DeRosa pinch hit for Cabrera only to ground into a double play. Henry Blanco pinch hit for Arencibia and struck out to end the game. The Sox had won 10-1.



Hero of the night is Clay Buchholz. He mastered the Jays with 7 shutout innings, scattering 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8.
                                                         Hero of the Night: Clay Buchholz


The Good:

David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. 

Mike Carp pinch hit for Ortiz and homered. 

Mike Napoli was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, 4 rbis, a walk and 3 runs scored. 

Daniel Nava was 2 for 5 including a home run, 2 rbis, and a run scored. 

Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with a run scored. 

Stephen Drew was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis, a home run and a run scored. 

Clayton Mortensen tossed 1 1/3 inning of scoreless relief.



The Bad:

Alex Wilson got knocked out in the 8th inning after allowing a run.



The Ugly:

Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 5. 

Jonny Gomes was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored a run. 

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with a run scored. 

David Ross was just 1 for 5.




Final Thoughts:

Another great start by Buchholz and another win for the Red Sox. They came out of the gate like a house of fire and May begins with more of the same. The addition of Ortiz has solidified the lineup and they're getting huge production out of the top of the order. Ellsbury is back healthy, Victorino is healthy, Napoli's hip has held up, Pedroia is a hit machine and Ortiz is Ortiz. Still would like to get more production out of the bottom of the order but wouldn't everyone? The win improved the Sox to 19-8, firmly in first place in the AL East. Tomorrow Ryan Dempster (1-2) takes the mound opposite JA Happ at 7:05

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