Clay Buchholz Fires Complete Game, Baffles Orioles

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Jun 4, 2010

Clay Buchholz Fires Complete Game, Baffles OriolesFinal, Red Sox 11-0: What can you say about this team who is clicking on all cylinders?

Sure, the Orioles are a terrible team that just saw their manager being fired, but there was lots to be happy about.

Buchholz continued his rapid ascension into the elite ranks of AL pitchers with a sterling complete game, giving up just five hits.

He was backed by quite a few contributors at the plate, most namely Adrian Beltre who racked up two RBIs on a solo homer and run-scoring double. Kevin Youkilis had three, Marco Scutaro plated four hits and only David Ortiz and substitute Darnell McDonald went without a hit.

End 9th, 11-0 Red Sox: Bucky is out to finish things, but coughs up a Tejada single.

He'll atone for that by getting Markakis to ground into a 6-4-2 on his 97th pitch.

His 100th pitch will end the game on a grounder by Wigginton, giving Buchholz eight wins — tied for most in the AL with David Price.

Mid 9th, 11-0 Red Sox: Alberto Castillo is in — a lefty.

Craig Tatum has replaced Wieters behind the plate, and he sees V-Mart rap a single, and Drew follow that up with an infield single.

Hot-hitting Beltre goes deep and knocks a ball off the wall. He'll ride into second with a RBI double.

McDonald grounds out as the Orioles go for the sure out, bringing Drew in.

Hall walks, prompting a visit from pitching coach Rick Krantiz to Castillo. That'll bring up Scutaro, seeking his fourth hit of the game. He won't get it, and instead grounds into a 5-4-3 DP.

End 8th, 9-0 Red Sox: Adam Jones grounded to short, but Moore plates a single. Izturis skies one to center for two out.

Buchholz finishes the frame with 88 pitches. Patterson pops up to Youkilis who had to do some serious stretching to get the ball ranging behind him.

Buchholz has 88 pitches. Complete game in his sights? Have to think so.

Mid 8th, 9-0 Red Sox: Scutaro has continued his hot streak, bashing a home run off Mata.

Scoot is 3-for-5 on the night with six total bases. Pedroia follows with a single.

Ortiz grounded a pitch behind first that Wigginton ranged to get and then threw a long strike to second to double off Pedroia. The return throw was in enough time to nip the lumbering DH. Youk then grounded to Izturis.

End 7th, 8-0 Red Sox: Wigginton got the inning started by singling, but Scott grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to erase the Orioles.

Wieters tried to squeak a single down the left field line in, but that goes foul. Buchholz takes advantage of that to whiff Wieters for his second K.

Top 7th, 8-0 Red Sox: Albers is done as Frank Mata comes on.

Mata is fresh from the minors, having only contributed 2 1/3 innings to the O's so far.

Beltre lines out to bring up McDonald in his first at-bat of the game. He's out at first on a bang-bang play as Izturis ranges behind second and flips the ball to first.

Hall goes down by way of the K and Buchholz is out for the bottom of the seventh.

End 6th, 8-0 Red Sox: Buchholz is on fire. He registers a 1-2-3 inning and has still given up just two hits.

He's walked one but also struck out just one, and his pitch count is at 72 — 48 strikes.

Mid 6th, 8-0 Red Sox: Pedroia strikes out, and Ortiz grounded to Moore. Youkilis keeps the inning alive with a two-out single to right.

V-Mart walks on four pitches to bring up Drew. He skies one to left that gets caught in foul territory as Patterson ranges to make the catch.

End 5th, 8-0 Red Sox: Jeremy Hermida is out of the game, perhaps because of the collision with Beltre. Trainers were looking at his arm.

Bill Hall moved to left, with Darnell McDonald taking center over.

Adam Jones grounded a pitch off of Buchholz' leg, but Pedroia gets the out without a problem. Moore goes down on a grounder to Scoot, leaving Izturis for the last out of the inning.

Buchholz has given up just two hits, and Izturis will not make it three as he

Mid 5th, 8-0 Red Sox: Matt Albers replaces Hendrickson. Adrian Beltre homers to left to pad the scoring. Victor Martinez got into a little game with Beltre, rubbing Beltre's head twice, much to Beltre's chagrin after Beltre playfully smacked V-Mart.

He went to go after V-Mart but Kevin Youkilis and others held him at bay. V-Mart snuck back in for a third head rub. Hermida and Hall both struck out before Scutaro flies to center.

End 4th, 7-0 Red Sox: The nitty-gritty: Wigginton grounds to Buchholz, Scott grounds to Youkilis (who tosses it to Buchholz), Wieters flies out.

Mid 4th, 7-0 Red Sox: Bill Hall whiffed, but a passed ball by Wieters gets him on base. Scutaro follows with an infield single, and Pedroia is up with two on.

Pedroia grounds to third for the out but pushes the runners over a base. Ortiz lines a soft grounder to second.

Going… going… gone. Kevin Youkilis hits a big fly that stays far down the left field line. It's a three-run homer.

And Drew strikes out to end the inning. Drew's been racking up the K's a lot lately.

End 3rd, 4-0 Red
Sox
: Izturis singles and advances to second as Patterson bunts
himself back to the bench.

The bunt resulted in a high hop that Buchholz easily snagged and then
tagged the speedy left fielder out.

Tejada flies out to right,
continuing what has been a disappointing season for the now-third
baseman.

The final out (from Nick Markakis) is recorded on a play shades of
Adrian Beltre and Jacoby Ellsbury's collision on April 11. Hermida was
coming hard in, Beltre hard out. Hermida ended up snagging the ball
while Beltre flipped over Hermida … just like the Ellsbury collision.
Unlike the other collision, both are unharmed although Beltre did come
up limping before shaking it off.

Mid 3rd, 4-0 Red
Sox
: Victor Martinez singles, but J.D. Drew whiffs. 

Adrian Beltre then skies one to Markakis in right.

Jeremy Hermida also whiffs, and Mark Hendrickson has settled things
down nicely. He's gone 1 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and striking out
two.

End 2nd, 4-0 Red Sox: A fairly quick frame for Buchholz.

Matt Wieters pops to third, Adam Jones flies to J.D. Drew and Hermida
snags a Scott Moore fly to end things.

Mid 2nd, 4-0 Red Sox: Jeremy Hermida gets the second off to a
good start with
a double, bringing up hot hitter Bill Hall.

Tillman is still on the mound, but his leash will be short this
inning.

Hall singles up the middle and the lineup flips over. Scutaro can't
pull off a hit like he did in the first and gets frozen on a pitch by
Tillman, striking out.

D-Ped is now at-bat. He walked in the first
to score Boston's second run and has ducks on the pond at first and
third. He'll rip a single into left to extend Boston's lead by one, and
new manager Juan Samuel has seen enough from Tillman. That'll end
Tillman's night, giving up four earned runs and registering only one
out.

Depending on how lefty journeyman Mark Hendrickson fares,
Tillman might have a final tally of six earned runs in his box score.

Ortiz

greets Hendrickson with a first-pitch grounder to first. It advances
the runners for Youkilis. Youk pops one up to Izturis, who almost butted
heads with Scott Moore, but registers the out for the inning.

Tillman

ended up going 1 1/3 innings with five hits, four earned runs, two
walks and two whiffs.

End 1st, 3-0 Red Sox: Clay Buchholz, he of the 1.32 road ERA
and winner of eight straight on the road, gives up a loud out to begin
his night.

J.D. Drew makes the catch in deep right field to retire Corey
Patterson, and Miguel Tejada reaches on a grounder back to Buchholz that
the pitcher couldn't corral.

Hall ranges into left field, encroaching on Jeremy Hermida's
territory to send Nick Markakis back to the bench.

Buchholz gets Ty Wigginton to sky a foul down the right field line,
but Drew can't keep the glove on the ball as he introduces himself to
the wall. The next pitch puts Wigginton on first.

Luke Scott bounces one to Pedroia who eventually runs down a
retreating Wigginton on the bases who was trying to avoid the tag.

Mid 1st, 3-0 Red Sox: Marco Scutaro gets the game started with
a leadoff single, then Dustin Pedroia has a battle with the rookie
pitcher before finally working a walk.

Ortiz follows suit with a walk, and the bases are loaded for Kevin
Youkilis.

Tillman comes back to strike out Youk for the first out of the game.

While Tillman succeeded in the at-bat with Victor Martinez, getting
him to ground to first (and the correct out call being called by the
first base umpire), Scutaro comes in with the first run.

A double by Drew plates two, and that was some fantastic running by
Drew. A fair number of players would have stopped at first as the hit
wasn't deep, but Drew kicked into gear and beat the throw.

There's already action in the bullpen as Mark Hendrickson gets up for
the O's, but Tillman gets out of the inning by getting Beltre to pop
up.

6:50 p.m.: Here are the lineups as the Orioles move forward
with new manager Juan Samuel…

Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David
Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jeremy

Hermida, LF
Bill Hall, CF

Orioles
Corey Patterson, LF
Miguel Tejada, 3B
Nick
Markakis, RF
Ty Wigginton, 1B
Luke Scott, DH
Matt Wieters, C
Adam

Jones, CF
Scott Moore, 2B
Cesar Izturis, SS

8 a.m.: An
otherwise satisfying seven-game homestand did not end well for the Red
Sox. They will try to start a seven-game road trip in better fashion
when they visit the Baltimore Orioles for the first of three Friday
night.

With their top two pitchers going to start the series, they have a
good shot.

Clay Buchholz will shoot for his fifth win in as many
starts in Friday's opener and Jon Lester, the American League Pitcher of
the Month for May, goes in Saturday's contest.

Buchholz yielded
just four hits in seven scoreless innings of Saturday's 1-0 win over
Kansas City. He has a 1.32 ERA in his four-game winning streak and is
4-2 lifetime against Baltimore.

Chris Tillman goes for the
Orioles. In his first start of the season Saturday in Toronto, the
22-year-old allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He has never faced the
Red Sox.

First pitch for this one is set for 7:05 p.m.

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