For a while it looked like the Red Sox were going to have another improbable Patriots Day comeback. Instead, it was just another deficit which was too great to overcome.
Clay Buchholz had one of worst outings ever. Not just this year, but ever. After cruising through the first 2 innings, Buchholz couldn't get out of the third and gave up 6 earned runs. The Red Sox are saying that nothing is wrong with Buchholz and that he is just struggling with arm strength. Farrell has said that this is typical of pitchers in the early stretches of the season. We will just have to wait and see if he gains his strength soon or has to make a stop on the disabled list.
In his brief start, Buchholz threw 55 pitches, 34 of which were strikes. Of the 34 strikes, 26 came via a swing of the bat. The breakdown of what happened on swings is as follows: 3 swinging strikes, 10 foul balls, 5 outs and 8 hits. The number that stands out to me the most is the 3 swinging strikes. Think about it, the batters don't know what is coming and there are only 3 swing and misses for 55 pitches. That's amazing, and not in a good way.
In his brief start, Buchholz threw 55 pitches, 34 of which were strikes. Of the 34 strikes, 26 came via a swing of the bat. The breakdown of what happened on swings is as follows: 3 swinging strikes, 10 foul balls, 5 outs and 8 hits. The number that stands out to me the most is the 3 swinging strikes. Think about it, the batters don't know what is coming and there are only 3 swing and misses for 55 pitches. That's amazing, and not in a good way.
Although they did get some offense going eventually, the bats were once again silent early on. The Red Sox didn't get a hit off Chen until the 4th inning. The team would cut the Orioles' lead in half and get on the board with 3 runs in the 5th (Bogaerts, Ross and Bradley). The bottom of the 6th would contain no offense as all three batters sat down complements of a Ryan Webb strikeout. Facing three batters, Webb matched Buchholz' 3 swinging strikes.
The Red Sox would inch closer in the 7th David Ross hit a solo shot. The Orioles would get that run back in the top of the 8th. Mike Napoli would get his 4th home run of the season to get the deficit back to 2. For the second time in less than 24 hours, Pedroia hit a shot that looked like it was going to clear the green monster but came up short. Seeing Pedroia come up inches short for the second time in two games, made me think of how his already impressive numbers would improve if he was using some Balco "vitamins". Next time someone tries to play that "it doesn't make you hit the ball" argument, think of The Laser Show.
The Red Sox would get one more run in the game, but that was one less than they needed to force extras.
The Red Sox would inch closer in the 7th David Ross hit a solo shot. The Orioles would get that run back in the top of the 8th. Mike Napoli would get his 4th home run of the season to get the deficit back to 2. For the second time in less than 24 hours, Pedroia hit a shot that looked like it was going to clear the green monster but came up short. Seeing Pedroia come up inches short for the second time in two games, made me think of how his already impressive numbers would improve if he was using some Balco "vitamins". Next time someone tries to play that "it doesn't make you hit the ball" argument, think of The Laser Show.
The Red Sox would get one more run in the game, but that was one less than they needed to force extras.
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