BOSTON — Clay Buchholz’s start against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday definitely was better than his first outing against the Cleveland Indians on April 6.
But the Red Sox still lost 9-5.
The Red Sox right-hander gave up just two hits — though one was a two-run homer to Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy — with five strikeouts through five innings, but then another two-run homer to Mark Trumbo took a 4-2 lead away from Boston in the sixth. It was all downhill from there, as the bullpen scored a Buchholz runner and added four more of their own in the loss.
“The Trumbo home run wasn’t a mistake,” Buchholz said. “I threw it where I wanted to. The Hardy home run wasn’t a mistake. I threw that exactly where I wanted to. Just caught a team that’s seeing the ball pretty well right now. … I felt like I had good stuff. I felt like I threw the ball pretty well tonight, and two home runs got me.”
The Trumbo home run actually might not have happened if catcher Blake Swihart hadn’t missed a pop fly that got caught up in the wind earlier in the Orioles outfielder’s at-bat. And while you can’t say the game would have gone very differently if he caught it, Swihart took the blame anyway.
“Yeah, it’s my fault,” Swihart said. “We shouldn’t have been in the situation. That should’ve been an out right there with a 4-2 lead.
“(Buchholz) pitched great,” Swihart added. “Commanding all his pitches, getting outs, getting quick outs, getting ahead of the guys, and like I said, that one play, if I make that play, it’s a completely different ballgame.”
Here are some more notes from Tuesday’s loss.
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— If you want a summary of how the Red Sox’s first seven games have gone, then just look to the fact that they’re tied with the Orioles for most runs scored in the American League (40) but also have the worst team ERA in the AL (5.90).
— For what it’s worth, Tuesday’s contest was the first time Red Sox pitchers gave up 10 hits or more, with 11 hits.
— Boston’s starting pitchers have only recorded two outs after the sixth inning in their seven outings. Both of them were by Steven Wright.
— David Ortiz had a good night, going 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double. It was his 293rd double at Fenway Park, which surpassed Wade Boggs for third-most in the ballpark’s history. Big Papi’s homer also was the first time a player 40 or over hit three home runs in his first seven games since Hank Aaron in 1974, and the first time Ortiz did it since 2004.
— Tommy Layne had his first bullpen outing of the season, after Red Sox manager John Farrell said earlier Tuesday that Layne just hadn’t gotten the right matchup. The left-hander threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts.
— It was Boston’s fourth loss of the season, but it was the first time they had been out-hit by an opponent. The Orioles had 11 hits to the Red Sox’s 10.
— To end this on a high note, Fenway Park is about to reach its own milestone. There now have been 11,999 home runs hit during the regular season at the 104-year-old ballpark. That doesn’t include eight home runs hit during Boston Braves games.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
