BOSTON — Clay Buchholz will be back in his natural habitat Tuesday night.
The Red Sox right-hander will get the start against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park after coming out of the bullpen in each of his last five appearances.
Buchholz has spent the vast majority of his major league career as a starter but was pulled from the rotation last month after posting a big league-worst 6.35 ERA through his first 10 appearances this season.
His foray into the bullpen largely was a successful one. Buchholz was rocked in one relief outing — three hits, four runs, four walks in 3 1/3 innings — but he did not allow a run in any of his other four appearances out of the ‘pen. Inconsistency at the bottom of Boston’s rotation resulted in Buchholz receiving a second chance.
“I still feel he has the stuff to be a successful starting pitcher at the major league level,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said before Monday’s game. “We’re looking for him to come out and pitch well for us and keep us competitive on a regular basis when he takes the ball. It’s got to start (Tuesday), though.”
Opposing Buchholz on Tuesday will be White Sox ace Chris Sale, who’s been in a bit of a slump since beginning the season 9-0. The 27-year-old lefty has surrendered four or more earned runs in three of his last five starts after holding opponents to one earned run or fewer in six of his first nine.
Sale will be facing a Red Sox lineup without David Ortiz, as Hanley Ramirez has been penciled in as Boston’s designated hitter for Game 2 of the teams’ four-game series. Travis Shaw will shift into Ramirez’s usual spot at first base, with Deven Marrero, who has yet to record a major league at-bat this season, getting the nod at third.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
RED SOX (39-30)
Mookie Betts, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Hanley Ramirez, 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Chris Young, LF
Travis Shaw, 3B
Sandy Leon, C
Deven Marrero, 3B
Clay Buchholz, RHP (3-6, 5.86Â ERA)
WHITE SOX (34-36)
Tim Anderson, SS
Adam Eaton, RF
Jose Abreau, 1B
Melky Cabrera, LF
Todd Frazier, 3B
Brett Lawrie, 2B
Dioner Navarro, C
Avisail Garcia, DH
J.B. Shuck, CF
Chris Sale, LHPÂ (11-2, 2.94 ERA)
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
