After two stellar outings, Clay Buchholz suffered his first hiccup of spring training.
The Boston Red Sox starter was inconsistent in the club’s 11-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at JetBlue Park on Tuesday, coughing up four runs on five hits over four innings of work. But it wasn’t all bad.
Only two of Buchholz’s runs were earned, as some shaky defense — the Sox had four errors on the day — led to the two runs he gave up in the fourth inning. The right-hander struggled a bit out of the gate, but he enjoyed perfect second and third innings. Buchholz also finished the day with six strikeouts.
And more importantly, the starting pitcher is feeling confident in himself.
“I feel pretty good actually,” Buchholz said after the game, per Boston.com. “I trained pretty hard this offseason to come to camp somewhat ready and the training and everything’s paying off being here. Been working out, it’s been pretty hot the last week or so, getting used to that and sweating a little bit.
“Overall, feel like arm’s in good shape. Just gotta continue to work on some little minor adjustments throughout the delivery and hopefully all that comes together before the start of the season.”
Buchholz now has a 1.80 ERA this spring training, giving him a solid case to be named Opening Day starter.
Here are some more notes from the Red Sox’s rough day against the Braves.
— Starting pitching wasn’t the only issue, as Boston gave up runs in the first seven innings. Brandon Workman in particular was roughed up, giving up fours runs (three earned) on four hits in the sixth.
— Offense also was a huge problem Tuesday. The Red Sox had plenty of chances to score with 12 hits, but they left 25 men on base over the course of the day.
— The injury bug has been nipping at Boston, but so far, there doesn’t appear to be anything major.
Pitcher Joe Kelly received some good news regarding his biceps soreness Tuesday, as a check-up determined he wouldn’t need an MRI. The Red Sox understandably are being cautious with every injury, so there’s no word on whether he’ll make his scheduled start Sunday.
“There’s still a little bit of soreness there but we’re going to get his arm moving with some light catch,” manager John Farrell said Tuesday, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “He went through a full workup here today. There’s no imaging at this point recommended or required. So what this means in terms of his next turn is yet to be determined.”
— Boston revealed that catcher Christian Vazquez suffered a minor injury to his throwing elbow while throwing out a runner in Friday’s matchup against the New York Yankees. Tests revealed no structural damage, but the team doesn’t want to risk overworking a guy who already has potential to be one of the better defensive catchers in the MLB.
“He threw (Monday), but not to where he’s without thought, where he’s really just cutting it loose,” Farrell said, per MLB.com. “As well as he throws and as valuable as his arm is to him as a player and us behind the plate, we’re backing him down for a few days.”
— Closer Koji Uehara strained his hamstring while running Tuesday morning and is considered day-to-day. Farrell isn’t concerned about his status for Opening Day but said that he’d be shut down for “a few days,” per ESPN’s Gordon Edes.
Thumbnail photo via Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports Images
