I Can't Believe Buchholz Pitched Eight Innings

Well, the title of this post actually comes from a team from Trivia Night last night.

I was also amazed how good Clay Buchholz pitched last night, as in the eight innings he went, he allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out four. He's currently the ace of the Red Sox staff right now. He allowed the Toronto Blue Jays just one run in the first, and then settled in, throwing 117 pitches. He was rarely in trouble, and gave the Red Sox staff, especially the bullpen, which was taxed on Monday night's slugfest, a nice breather last night.

Terry Francona rolled the dice in the ninth, as Jonathan Papelbon had pitched in five of the previous six games. He brought in Ramon Ramirez. But the gamble paid off, as Ramirez got the Jays 1-2-3 to get his first save, as the Red Sox won, 2-1.

Jeremy Hermida singled in David Ortiz in the second to make it 1-1. From there it was a duel between Buchholz and Shawn Marcum, who was equally as good. The Red Sox laoded the bases in the eighth with two outs, and closer Kevin Gregg came in to face Mike Lowell, who was batting for Ortiz (second time and counting). Gregg wasn't anywhere close, and walked Lowell on four pitches to give the Red Sox the lead.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight, as Jon Lester takes the mound. Before last night's game, they sent Scott Atchison to Pawtucket, and brought up pitcher Fabio Castro, to help the worn out pen. And once the game concluded, castro returned to AAA, and Alan Embree was brought back to the Red Sox for his second stint in Boston. (Actually, if he wasn't brought up by this week, he could declare his free agency, so the Red Sox brought him up. This could spell the end of the road for Scott Schoeneweis, as Daisuke Matsuzaka will be activated on Saturday, and another pitcher will go.)