Tommy Rancel, Special to ESPN.com 8y

Clay Buchholz's resurgence making decisions tough for Red Sox

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Clay Buchholz does not know when his next appearance will come, let alone his next start. Despite the uncertain future, the 32-year-old pitched like his old self Tuesday night in leading the Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. In doing so, he allowed the Red Sox to keep pace with the Toronto Blue Jays atop the American League East.

Making his third straight start after pitching most of July out of the bullpen, Buchholz gave up only one run, five hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. The innings output was his highest since early May. He struck out a season-high nine batters using a four-pitch medley led by a surprisingly vibrant fastball.

"That's probably as good a fastball as he's had in quite some time," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "To carry his stuff as deep as he did today, that was an encouraging and very strong outing."

Buchholz tossed 81 pitches last Thursday in a no-decision against the Detroit Tigers. Farrell said before this game he would allow him to go as long as he was effective but probably would settle for a pitch count in the mid-90s. The right-hander proved up to the task, hitting 93 mph on his final pitch -- the 94th he threw on the night.

Buchholz said he could feel his arm getting stronger, noting that choosing to pitch exclusively from the stretch has allowed him to "minimize some movement" and prevent his arm from coming in too late.

Before the game, Farrell said he was not looking past Tuesday in regard to Buchholz's future. Afterward, he admitted the recent performance will lead to "more of a conversation within."

Regardless of how well he has pitched, with Steven Wright set to return Friday after throwing 55 pitches off the mound in a bullpen session, and Eduardo Rodriguez pitching three innings of a simulated game with no limitations, Buchholz might find himself once again without a spot in the rotation as the club does not plan to expand to six starters. After the game, Buchholz said he wanted to make the decision a "hard one" for Farrell.

Rookie Andrew Benintendi, who dazzled Red Sox Nation with his home run-robbing catch Monday night, set the tone with his bat in this one. With runs at a premium, Benintendi recorded his eighth multihit game in just his 18th career start. He opened the scoring in the third inning, racing home on an RBI single from David Ortiz.

A night after catching Hank Aaron on MLB's all-time doubles list, Ortiz's hit marked his 2,043th with the Red Sox, moving him past Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr for sixth on the franchise's all-time hit list. Ortiz would come around for the Red Sox's second run after a single by Mookie Betts and an error by right fielder Steven Souza allowed the 40-year-old to score from first base.

Once again, Boston received a tremendous defensive play made by an outfielder in the eighth inning. This time it was Betts, who threw out Kevin Kiermaier trying to stretch a double into a triple. Instead of the tying run just 90 feet away, Betts' 10th assist of the season marked the second out of the inning.

"One of the more strong throws we're probably going to see. Some game-changing defensive plays in the eighth inning that play a huge impact," Farrell said.

Betts said his arm strength has been coming along since his conversion from the infield to the outfield. "I think it has increased a lot. I can get a little more behind it and create more backspin to carry a little more. It still has a little way to go, but I definitely can see changes."

Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth inning for his 23rd save of the season. Boston, winner in 10 of its last 12, sits a season-high 17 games above .500.

^ Back to Top ^