Live Blog: Red Sox at Blue Jays

Red Sox 4-1, FINAL: Don't feel bad about your free agent failures, Theo. Just look at what the homegrown talent did for you tonight. Buchholz, Bard and Jonathan Papelbon go 8 of 9 innings and Pedroia and Youkilis each scored two runs.

And that's the way it is, Friday, July 17, 2009.

Mid 9th, Red Sox 4-1: Haven't said this for a while, but … I LOST MY LEG!

End 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Nobody misses Buchholz more than Lyle Overbay. After going 3-for-3 against Clay, Overbay is 0-for-1 against Okajima, grounding out to leave Scott Rolen stranded at second. 

Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-1: Buchholz isn't the only one making a strong return to the majors tonight. Mike Lowell, who said before the game that his hip hasn't felt this good since before the injury occurred last summer, is 2-for-4, picking up his second single in the eighth. Hideki Okajima is on to pitch the bottom half.

End 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Buchholz is the story tonight, but Daniel Bard is trying to steal the show. Since relieving Buchholz with two outs in the sixth, Bard has faced four batters and struck out three of them, including two in a 1-2-3 seventh.

Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: David Dellucci? Seriously? Who knew this guy was still playing. Well, he's playing tonight, robbing Pedroia of extra bases with a sick over-the-shoulder grab in the seventh. Dellucci played on that 2003 Yankees team, which is about all you can say about the guy. But he's catching everything in sight tonight

End 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Bard blows away Bautista with a 99 mph fastball to end the sixth.

9:15 p.m.: Clay Buchholz's night is over, one out shy of a full six innings. After getting the first two in the sixth, Buchholz allowed his third hit to Overbay — nearly getting killed in the process by the liner back up the middle — then a walk to Alex Rios that brought Terry Francona from the dugout. But regardless of the final two batters, this was a major success for Buchholz, who makes a strong case to end his Pawtucket exile. It's now up to Daniel Bard to keep Buchholz in line for the victory.

Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Buchholz heads back to the mound for the sixth inning at 83 pitches in what has been a solid return to the majors. The key will be to get through this inning unscatched, allowing Buchholz to leave with a good feeling before he heads back to Pawtucket.

End 5th, Red Sox 4-1: Buchholz puts himself in position to win his first start of 2009, ending the fifth inning by striking out Hill on a nasty breaking ball. Buchholz has allowed one run on three hits and this outing makes you wonder if the Brad Penny Trade Sweepstakes might get active again over the next two weeks.

Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-1: Maybe the Red Sox know what they're doing by waiting out Jason Bay on his contract. A month ago, Bay was commanding Teixeira money. But the reality is, Bay has not been the same hitter the past few weeks, and he's off to a tough start tonight, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Bay is a player the Red Sox would be wise to lock-up long term, but the notion that his pricetag is only climbing might prove incorrect if Bay has a pedestrian second half.

8:43 p.m.: David Ortiz is starting the season's second half much better than the first. Ortiz just misses a three-run homer in the fifth, settling for a two-run double off the top of the left-field wall for his second hit of the night and a 4-1 Red Sox lead. The double drives Romero from the game. Lots of strikeouts, but no revenge. 

End 4th, Red Sox 2-1: Buchholz runs into his first real trouble, but Adam Lind runs into an out, and the damage is limited. Lind led off with a gap double to right-center, but when Scott Rolen tapped back to Buchholz, Lind inexplicably took off for third. An alert Buchholz easily threw Lind out, then allowed a ground-rule double to Overbay (2-for-2). Alex Rios delivered Rolen with a sacrifice fly, but that's all the Jays would get.

Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-0: Lowell picks up his first hit since returning from the DL, but that's where the fun ended for the Sox in the fourth. After Varitek walked for the second time, Baldelli hit into a double play. Then Green had the double dose of bad luck, not being awarded first after being hit on the hand by a pitch before becoming Romero's eighth strikeout victim.

End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Buchholz has himself another relatively easy inning, thanks to the defense behind him. After Buchholz issued a one-out walk to Marco Scutaro, Pedroia snared a hot shot by Aaron Hill to start a 4-6-3, inning-ending double play. Buchholz has allowed just one hit and one walk through three.

Mid 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Jim Kaat, the pitching legend who is joining Don Orsillo in the booth, noted at the start of the game that Romero wanted some payback for the 8-2 loss in May. It didn't look like that was going to happen after Youkilis took him deep in the first, but Romero is getting his revenge now, striking out the side for the second straight inning. Romero allowed a leadoff single to Dustin Pedroia, then blew away Youkilis, David Ortiz and Bay, giving Romero seven strikeouts through three innings.

End 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: Buchholz picks up his first two strikeouts, shaking off a tough error against Mike Lowell that put runners at first and second with two outs. Lowell had to range far to his right to field Jose Bautista's grounder down the line, but the throw to first was off-line, earning the error. Buchholz then struck out Rod Barajas to end the inning. Add poise to Clay's resume tonight.

7:42 p.m.: In case you were wondering, there will be no Buchholz no-hitter tonight. Lyle Overbay singles up the middle with one out in the second.

Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: It was starting to look like another rough outing for Romero, who walked Jason Varitek to lead off the second. Then the gong went off and Romero started dominating, striking out Rocco Baldelli, Nick Green and J.D. Drew to end the inning.

End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: Julio who? Nick Green makes Buchholz's first major league inning of the season go very smoothly, fielding all three grounders in a 1-2-3 inning. Buchholz his throwing his first-pitch fastball for strikes and looked very much in command to start the game.

Mid 1st, Red Sox 2-0: Blue Jays rookie left-hander Ricky Romero allowed five runs in four innings in an 8-2 loss to the Red Sox May 31, but had been 5-1 since then. The more things change … Romero gives up two runs in the first inning tonight on a two-run homer by Kevin Youkilis, who homered off Romero in the May game. Now, it's time for Clay Buchholz to make his 2009 debut.

7:05 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury was a late scratch from the lineup because of illness, with Rocco Baldelli replacing him in center and batting eighth. Flu-like symptoms have also claimed Vernon Wells, who will not play for the Blue Jays tonight.

6:10 p.m.: Julio Lugo's contract wasn't the only one in the news today. Epstein announced today that talks with free-agent-to-be Jason Bay have broken down and will be tabled until after the season. Bay told reporters today that the breakdown in talks "wasn't the end of the world," but it doesn't bode well that the sides remain apart and won't resume negotiations until the point where Bay can become a free agent. Bay figures to be the top free agent this offseason, and could be in line for a mega-contract, and not necessarily in Boston. The Red Sox chose not to strike in spring training, with the market depressed. Now, it's the Nation that could be in for a depressing offseason.

5:35 p.m.: The Red Sox have made it official: Clay Buchholz and Mike Lowell are on the roster. Julio Lugo is off it. Lugo has been designated for assignment, while Aaron Bates was sent back to Pawtucket. Lowell will bat sixth tonight.

General manager Theo Epstein, speaking to reporters in Toronto, was contrite about the Lugo signing, which was doomed from the start.

"I think ownership has been consistent that we’ll do what we need to do to keep the best possible team on the field," Epstein said. "A sunk cost is a sunk cost. We’re sorry it didn’t work out better with Julio, obviously. But keeping him on the team wasn’t going to change that. Sometimes the best organizations admit their mistakes and they move on. And that’s what we’re doing here.

"This was one of the free agent signings that doesn’t work out. We were paying for past performance, not current performance. That’s the true definition of a mistake, and as the decision, that’s on me. We’ll just move on and be a better organization having gone through it, and we’ll make better decisions going forward."

2:30 p.m.: The Red Sox return to action tonight in Toronto a much different-looking team than the one that left for the All-Star break last Sunday. For starters, the Julio Lugo Era is over. According to a Boston Globe report, the Red Sox designated their under-performing, overpaid shortstop for assignment this afternoon, meaning the team has a week to either trade Lugo or release him. Either way, the Red Sox will almost certainly swallow the remaining $13 million owed to Lugo, who was signed to a four-year, $36 million deal before the 2007 season.

Lugo's departure clears the way for the returns of both Mike Lowell — and later, Jed Lowrie — from the disabled list. Lowell has been activated for tonight's game, and Lowrie could be activated tonight or Sunday, with Aaron Bates heading back to the minors. Lowell's return, provided his hip cooperates, should provide a boost to a sagging offense. Lowrie gives the Red Sox stability at shortstop, where Nick Green has filled in admirably, but has never been a long-term solution.

Most interesting of all the changes tonight is the cameo appearance by Clay Buchholz, who has dominated Triple A this season and has been pining for a return to the majors for months. Buchholz gets his chance for redemption after flaming out in 2008, even if the plan calls for just the one start — for now.

"There's something to be said for keeping Buchholz engaged in what we're doing," manager Terry Francona told WEEI Thursday. "This kid has gone down and done everything we've asked. I don't think 'throwing him a bone' is the right way to say it, but keeping him engaged in what we're doing and showing him we believe in what he's doing, I think there's something to be said for that."