If Clay Buchholz was allowed to choose an opponent to face coming off one of his worst career starts it would likely be the Toronto Blue Jays.
If given a choice between pitching in Fenway Park or the Rogers Centre, you guessed it, the Rogers Centre would win. If you let him take this one step further and allowed him to choose which Blue Jays he would want out of the lineup. Adam Lind and Maicer Izturis would be at the top of the list.
Well, lucky for Clay, the stars have aligned perfectly for him today. His fifth start of the season is against the Blue Jay at the Rogers Centre. Lind and Izturis will not be in the lineup as both players are currently on the DL.
So, why do I think Clay should be pumped up about today's start? In the past 3 years he has had a 2.38 ERA against the Blue Jays. If you think that's something to be psyched about, his 1.24 ERA at Rogers Centre is even more incredible.
Last season Buchholz made three starts against the Blue Jays. Although he only gave up a total of 4 earned runs, he was only credited with 1 win. As has been the case early this season, a dominant pitching performance is sometimes negated by a lack of run support. Hopefully, that will not be a problem for the Red Sox today as they have hit Brandon Morrow quite well in the past.
Coming off a season ending nerve injury, Morrow hasn't really had a great start yet this season. While he hasn't given up that many hits or runs, he also hasn't given the Blue Jays a lot of innings. In the recent past, Red Sox bats have not been too kind to Morrow. Over the past 3 seasons he has an 8.70 ERA against Boston.
The Red Sox players who have hit him well are Sizemore (6 for 12, 3 doubles and 1 HR), Ortiz (7 for 17 with 3 HR) and Pedroia (12 for 23, 4 doubles and 2 HR). With this being the day game after a night game, Farrell has replaced Napoli with Carp and Bogaerts with Herrera. Since Carp is 3 for 10 against Morrow, that is probably a good call. After a rough week in the field Bogaerts can definitely use a breather.
So, why do I think Clay should be pumped up about today's start? In the past 3 years he has had a 2.38 ERA against the Blue Jays. If you think that's something to be psyched about, his 1.24 ERA at Rogers Centre is even more incredible.
Last season Buchholz made three starts against the Blue Jays. Although he only gave up a total of 4 earned runs, he was only credited with 1 win. As has been the case early this season, a dominant pitching performance is sometimes negated by a lack of run support. Hopefully, that will not be a problem for the Red Sox today as they have hit Brandon Morrow quite well in the past.
Coming off a season ending nerve injury, Morrow hasn't really had a great start yet this season. While he hasn't given up that many hits or runs, he also hasn't given the Blue Jays a lot of innings. In the recent past, Red Sox bats have not been too kind to Morrow. Over the past 3 seasons he has an 8.70 ERA against Boston.
The Red Sox players who have hit him well are Sizemore (6 for 12, 3 doubles and 1 HR), Ortiz (7 for 17 with 3 HR) and Pedroia (12 for 23, 4 doubles and 2 HR). With this being the day game after a night game, Farrell has replaced Napoli with Carp and Bogaerts with Herrera. Since Carp is 3 for 10 against Morrow, that is probably a good call. After a rough week in the field Bogaerts can definitely use a breather.
Red Sox Lineup for Today
- Pedroia, 2B
- Victorino, RF
- Ortiz, DH
- Carp, 1B
- Sizemore, LF
- Pierzynski, C
- Middlebrooks, 3B
- Herrera, SS
- Bradley Jr., CF
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