The Red Sox will head to Chicago to take on the White Sox for a three-game stand at U.S. Cellular Field before returning to Boston for a four-game series against the Indians. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week this time around.

• Monday: Jon Lester versus Dylan Axelrod
  
• Tuesday: Felix Doubront verus Jose Quintana
• Wednesday: Clay Buchholz versus Chris Sale

Clay Buchholz

Buchholz allowed just four earned runs in 15 innings this week, allowing 10 hits and six walks to earn Amica Pitcher of the Week honors. Buchholz is still 6-0 on the season while his ERA sits at 1.78. He has a 1.04 WHIP on the season with 69 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings. He allowed his first home run since April 3 on Friday night.

Buchholz is first among AL pitchers in WAR, second in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts and third in wins. He’s allowed just a .192 batting average against.

The Red Sox are back out on the road this week to take on the division rival Tampa Bay Rays and the Minnesota Twins. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week this time around.

• Tuesday: John Lackey vs. Matt Moore
  
• Wednesday: Jon Lester vs. David Price
• Thursday: Clay Buchholz vs. Alex Cobb

Jon Lester

That latest performance is what earned him Amica Pitcher of the Week honors. Lester pitched a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts against Toronto. He didn’t walk a single batter and allowed his lone hit in the sixth inning.

Lester lowered his season ERA to 2.73 after the dominant performance. He’s 5-0 with a 0.99 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings in the young 2013 season.

Andrew Miller was also impressive this week. He threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in four appearances with seven strikeouts, zero walks and just two hits. While the Red Sox’ bullpen was dealing with injuries, Miller was a rock this week.

The Red Sox are back in the friendly confines of Fenway Park this week to take on the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week this time around.

• Monday: Clay Buchholz vs. Vance Worley
• Tuesday: Ryan Dempster vs. Scott Diamond
• Wednesday: Felix Doubront vs. Pedro Hernandez
• Thursday: John Lackey vs. Kevin Correia

This week’s efforts might have garnered some controversy after Blue Jays analysts — and former MLB pitchers — Jack Morris and Dick Hayhurst accused Buchholz of using a spitball or scuffball, but it was also one of his best of the season. The Red Sox’ starter threw seven innings of scoreless baseball with eight strikeouts. He allowed just two hits and three walks.

The outing lowered his season ERA to 1.01 and his WHIP to 0.96. He’s 6-0 on the season and leads the AL in wins, ERA and pitching WAR.

Buchholz is set to take on the Twins at Fenway Park on Monday. The Red Sox will face off against Vance Worley as Buchholz tries to grab his seventh win in as many starts.

The Red Sox hit the road for a little road trip starting Tuesday, taking on the Blue Jays in Toronto and the Rangers in Texas. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week this time around.

• Tuesday: Jon Lester vs. Brandon Morrow
• Wednesday: Clay Buchholz vs. Mark Buehrle
• Thursday: Ryan Dempster vs. TBA
• Friday: TBA vs. Derek Holland

Clay Buchholz

Andrew Bailey is this week’s Amica Pitcher of the Week for an impressive seven-day stretch. The reliever pitched four innings, allowed just one earned run and struck out eight this week in performances against the Royals and Athletics. Bailey added three saves to his stat line.

The closer — at least until Joel Hanrahan is back — now has a 1.59 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings for a staggering 15.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s walked just four all season in 12 appearances.

Bailey’s most impressive feat of the week was his outing on Wednesday when he pitched a perfect ninth with three strikeouts. It was his seventh perfect outing of the season, but his first where he struck out the side.

The Red Sox have continued their strong start to the 2013 season on the backs of their starting pitchers. Boston’s rotation has continued to come through for the team, and it was only recently that a starter allowed more than three runs in an outing for the first time all year.

With the Sox in the middle of a long homestand that features visits from the Oakland A’s and Houston Astros, there will be plenty of opportunities to keep the good times rolling on the mound. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week this time around.

• Felix Doubront vs. A.J. Ellis
• Alfredo Aceves vs. Bartolo Colon
• Jon Lester vs. Brett Anderson
• Clay Buchholz vs. TBA
• Ryan Dempster vs. TBA

Buchholz has blazed through the American League thus far, posting a 0.41 ERA with a 3-0 record and 23 strikeouts in 22 innings. His adjusted ERA+ is an astronomical 1,046, considering 100 is league average.

Sunday’s start was Buchholz’s best of the season so far. He carried a no-hitter through seven innings and allowed just two hits and four walks through eight. His 11 strikeouts were a career high.

That performance earned Buchholz his second straight Amica Pitcher of the Week honors. The righty pitches again Saturday afternoon against the Royals in the Red Sox’ first home game since the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Red Sox are off to a 7-4 start to the 2013 season and lead the American League in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. This week they take a quick jaunt out to Cleveland before returning home for a series against the Royals. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week.

• Ryan Dempster vs. Jeremy Hellickson
• Felix Doubront vs. Ubaldo Jimenez
• Alfredo Aceves vs. Justin Masterson
• Jon Lester vs. Zach McAllister

The 28-year-old righty has allowed just one run in two starts this season while striking out 12 in 14 innings. He has a 0.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a .184 batting average against.

In Buchholz’ start on Monday he pitched seven innings, struck out eight and allowed three hits while walking four against the Orioles. He threw 113 pitches with 65 of those going for strikes in Boston’s home opener. That performance earned Buchholz Amica Pitcher of the Week honors.

Buchholz finished strong in his second outing of the season, recording two strikeouts in the top of the seventh. The righty pitches next on Sunday against the Rays.

The Red Sox won two of three in New York and Toronto to start the season. This week they return home to take on two of the young and talented Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week.

• Jon Lester vs. David Price
• Clay Buchholz vs. Jeremy Hellickson
• Ryan Dempster vs. Miguel Gonzalez
• Felix Doubront vs. Jake Arrieta

Hanrahan has proven to be worth the package Boston gave up for the longtime National League reliever — Jerry Sands, Stolmy Pimentel, Ivan DeJesus Jr. and Mark Melancon. Hanrahan has appeared in three games so far and allowed zero runs, one hit and one walk while striking out two and recording two saves.

After Andrew Bailey went down early in the 2012 season, the Red Sox couldn’t get reliable production out of Alfredo Aceves in the closer role. The season is still young, but Hanrahan has looked up to the challenge of facing off against the AL East’s best batters.

For his three scoreless appearances and two saves, Hanrahan is this week’s Amica Pitcher of the Week.

The Red Sox open up the season with a tough little road trip in the opening week as they take on the Yankees in New York and the Blue Jays in Toronto. Check out the pitching matchups and vote for who you think will be the Amica Pitcher of the Week.

• Jon Lester vs. CC Sabathia
• Clay Buchholz vs. Hiroki Kuroda
• Ryan Dempster vs. Andy Pettitte
• Felix Doubront vs. Josh Johnson

Junichi Tazawa has been one of the Red Sox' best relievers out of the bullpen in 2012 and his performance this past week was exactly what they needed. Appearing in the final two games of the series, Tazawa pitched two perfect innings with a stikeout while registering a hold on Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old Japanese import finishes the 2012 season with 37 appearences out of the bullpen with a 1-1 record and one save. His five holds put him in a three-way tie for sixth place on the team and his 1.43 ERA was best on the team.

In a season that saw manys ups and downs, Tazawa gave the Red Sox something to rely on coming out of the bullpen. For his two perfect innings, Junichi Tazawa is this week's Amica Pitcher of the Week.

While the Sox may not have much to play for at this point, the potential to play spoiler is still there and, with some quality pitching, they could make life much more difficult for their archrivals. The Red Sox have the luxury of being able to exhaust their bullpen, which means there will be plenty of candidates for the final Amica Pitcher of the Week award.

The series kicks off Monday night with Clay Buchholz (11-7, 4.22 ERA) taking the ball for just the second time this season against the Yankees. Buchholz was hit hard April 20 at home against the Bronx Bombers, giving up six runs on nine hits through six innings of work. However, Buchholz has been a different pitcher since the calander flipped to June and — despite dropping his last three decisions — posted a solid 3.03 ERA in the month of September.

Following Buchholz will be Jon Lester (9-14, 4.94). The reigning Amica Pitcher of the Week has had one of his most inconsistent seasons to date but has turned things around in September. Lester has faced the Yanks twice this season, and his last outing in New York was one of his best of the season, as he held the home team to just one run on five hits through seven innings.

Wrapping up the 2012 season for the Red Sox will be Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-6, 7.68). As his record shows, it has been a long, long year for Dice-K. In 10 starts this year, Matsuzaka has lasted more than six innings just twice. He has not faced the Yankees in 2012, but since 2009, Matsuzaka has posted a 4.38 ERA in 24 2/3 innings in four starts against them.

With the Yankees pressing for the playoffs and Red Sox on the outside looking in, who will lead the Red Sox in their spoiler bid and take home the final Amica Pitcher of the Week award?

Despite pitching well, the back-to-back home runs surrendered by Lester in the fifth inning gave the Rays a 3-0 lead from which the Red Sox could not recover. Run support has been something Lester has become a stranger to this season, which is unfortunate, because he has pitched wonderfully as of late.

The left-hander has posted quality starts in six of his last 10 outings and is 4-2 in those games. A quality start is usually something that is accompanied by a win, but the lack of run support Lester has received has contributed to his 9-14 record in 2012.

While he may not have earned the win Wednesday, Lester posted a vintage performance against the Rays and put the Red Sox in a good position to win. It may not have been enough to earn a W, but it's enough to earn him Amica Pitcher of the Week honors.

Clay Buchholz (11-6, 4.16 ERA) is the defending Amica Pitcher of the Week after putting up a solid seven-inning, four-hit effort against the Rays last Thursday despite not getting the decision. Buchholz will take the mound again Tuesday, looking to get his first win since Aug. 16. In that time, he has put up three quality starts (at least six innings, less than three earned runs), showing that with a little support, Buchholz could help stop the slide the Sox have been on.

Next up is Jon Lester (9-13, 4.96 ERA), as he takes the hill against Alex Cobb and the Rays on Wednesday. Lester has been inconsistent for much of the season, but he has lasted at least seven innings in his last two starts while giving up seven total runs. Lester was on the losing end of both contests, receiving just two runs of support in those games, but he has also struggled at Fenway this season, posting a 3-9 record with a 6.42 ERA.

After a quick two-gamer with the Rays, the Sox head to Baltimore, with Zach Stewart (1-3, 7.91 ERA) taking the mound in place of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Stewart has made 19 appearences this season, two of them starts. Having faced 45 hitters as a starter, Stewart has allowed 19 hits and six home runs. He last appeared Aug. 29 against the Angels, when he lasted just three innings, allowing 10 hits and nine earned runs.

With the Rays 3 1/2 games out of the wild card and the Orioles one game behind the Yankees in the AL East, a winning streak this week could make the final weeks of the season just as exciting as 2011. With the pitchers poised to make that happen, who do you think will be the next Amica Pitcher of the Week?

Clay Buchholz started the year picking up victories where he really had no business winning, going 4-1 over his first seven starts despite a 8.31 ERA.

Over the last couple of months, though, karma has been paying him back. Buchholz has been fantastic for the Red Sox, but the wins have been harder to come by.

On Thursday night, Buchholz pitched his latest gem — a seven-inning, four-hit outing against Tampa Bay where nary a run crossed the plate. The Red Sox' offense failed to back him up, though, and the Rays won 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth.

Still, Buchholz has been the Sox' best pitcher in the second half, and his last two starts — 14 innings pitched, eight hits, one earned run — continue to keep expectations high for the team when he takes the mound. That's enough to earn him Amica Pitcher of the Week honors.