BOSTON — Right on cue, Mr. Buchholz.
Red Sox principal owner John Henry voiced little concern about Boston’s pitching situation while addressing the club’s early-season issues before Tuesday’s game at Fenway Park. Perhaps Henry’s optimism had something to do with Buchholz’s recent success, which the right-hander added to with an absolute gem in Boston’s 1-0, series-opening win over the Minnesota Twins.
“An outstanding performance by Clay tonight, and particularly on the heels of him being a little bit under the weather the last couple of days,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said after Tuesday’s victory. “He gave us everything he had and a timely, very good performance.”
Buchholz tossed eight shutout innings in which he allowed just three hits. He struck out eight and walked two while throwing 92 pitches (64 strikes). It was both efficient and effective, which the Red Sox needed on another night when they struggled to generate offense against Twins starter Mike Pelfrey.
But let’s talk bigger picture. Tuesday’s dominant performance by Buchholz wasn’t an aberration. While the Red Sox have struggled to gain traction in recent weeks, Buchholz quickly has evolved into a stabilizing presence in Boston’s rotation. He’s looked — dare I say? — like an ace.
Buchholz, whose season seemed doomed following his April 12 implosion against the New York Yankees and after his April 28 stinker against the Toronto Blue Jays, is missing bats, throwing four pitches for strikes and working with a whole lot of confidence. Without going overboard, it’s the best he’s looked since the beginning of 2013, when Buchholz opened the season with a 9-0 record and a 1.71 ERA before landing on the disabled list and missing three months.
“He’s doing such a good job of repeating his delivery,” Farrell said. “When you see the number of swing and miss that he’s getting with his changeup and his curveball, he’s on a good little run right now.”
There’s always a chance Buchholz will return to the mound five days after a masterful performance and get shelled. Inconsistency has been an unfortunate hallmark of his career. But there’s also a chance he’ll follow it up with another work of art. And lately, he’s been treading down the latter path more often.
Buchholz owns a 1.47 ERA (five earned runs in 30 2/3 innings) over his last four starts, lowering his season ERA to 3.82. He has allowed two runs or fewer and has gone at least 7 1/3 innings in each of those outings, and he’s lasted at least six innings in each of his last six starts.
Without his nine-run implosion in the Bronx in his second start of the season, Buchholz’s ERA would sit at 2.77. Obviously, one can’t just throw away starts, but it’s a mark that would sit between Felix Hernandez’s 2.63 ERA and Scott Kazmir’s 2.93 ERA for 11th in the American League.
This isn’t to suggest Buchholz is King Felix. Even labeling Buchholz an “ace” or a “No. 1 starter” is ill-advised given his aforementioned track record of inconsistency. But it’s definitely time to stand up and take notice of how well he’s been pitching outside of one, maybe two, bad starts.
The Red Sox need each individual to do his job to climb out of the basement. Buchholz quietly is holding up his end of the bargain.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
