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Game Story: Buchholz ineffective in PawSox 7-6 loss

BUFFALO, N.Y. - It just wasn’t Clay Buchholz night.

Buchholz knows September call-ups are coming and he has every intention of being on the Boston Red Sox shopping list when they pluck players from Pawtucket, so last nights outing couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment.

Ryan Mulhern went 2-for-4 and Joe Inglett (3-for-4) had four RBI to the lead Buffalo Bisons to a 7-6 win over Pawtucket in front of 10,586 fans at Dunn Tire Park Wednesday night.

A sandwich pick (42nd overall) in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft Buchholz is rated by Baseball America as the top pitching and No.2 overall prospect in the Boston chain.

Promoted to Pawtucket on July 12, Buchholz didn’t have to wait long for his first taste Major League action as he made his Fenway Park debut on August 17 in the Red Sox 8-4 win over Los Angles Angels. Buchholz logged six innings, struck out five and yielded three earned runs on eight hits.

But he wasn’t anywhere near as effective Wednesday night against the Bisons.

Relying mostly on his curve and fastball, Buchholz struggled with his command all the night, especially in the first inning when he issued back-to-back walks to Keith Ginter and Andy Marte to load the bases.

Buchholz did manage to work out of the jam when he induced a first-pitch fly out to Bisons catcher Mike Rose.

The Bisons (69-61) did score one run in the first when Mulhern’s RBI double brought Inglett home. Reaching base on a hit-by-pitch Iglett advanced to second base when Buchholz (1-2) picked off attempt sailed beyond the reach of first baseman Jeff Bailey.

A strikeout pitcher Buchholz never found his normal groove of attacking batters and his breaking pitches seemed to hang over the plate more frequently than usual. Something the Bisons took full advantage of.

Buchholz (three strikeouts) lasted just three innings giving up three runs on four hits and a walk. Buchholz threw 63 pitches with 36 of them landing in the strike zone.

Buchholz also had to do an emergency duck-and-tuck in the third when Andy Marte sent a screaming line drive up the middle that almost hit Buchholz.

While lackluster offense early on didn’t help Pawtucket (62-68) the Bisons received timely hitting as they plated each of its first three runs with two-outs.

Bisons starter Jeremy Sowers (4-5), who ironically enough was pitching on his own bobble-head night, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, shortstop Jed Lowrie drew a walk in the first, before catcher George Kottaras broke up the no-hit bid with a single to left field.

Junior Spivey drove Kottaras in when he sent a Sowers 2-0 offering over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, trimming the Bisons lead to 3-2.

Inglett extended the Bisons lead to 6-2 in the sixth when he stroked a bases-clearing line-drive triple to right field off Craig Breslow.

The PawSox kept it exciting as they mounted two late inning rallies, The first coming in the seventh when Sowers walked Kottaras to load the bases after back-to-back singles from Jeff Bailey and Bobby Scales, but they were unable to punch a run across the plate.

Lowrie cracked a three-run shot off of Bisons reliever Jason Stanford in the ninth to trim the lead to 7-6, but the rally stalled there.

“We had a really poor night situational (hitting). That’s why you play 27 outs because you never know. We got that big three-run homer…we had enough opportunities we had enough hits but if we put the ball in play (situational) its probably a different ball game,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson.

“Sowers stymied us for five innings Spivey had the homer so we put some pressure on them. But you’ve got to get them across.”

--DAVE RICCI (Special to the Journal)

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:40 PM to PawSox | Permalink

Game Story: Dice-K gets little run support as Sox fall to D'Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Well, two out of three isn’t bad. You can’t win ‘em all.

Trot out whatever cliché you want, but the Boston Red Sox’ 2-1 loss to the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field was a disappointment.

The Sox failed to hit in the clutch (1 for 10 with runners in scoring position) and one bad pitch from Daisuke Matsuzaka – a two-run homer to B.J. Upton in the sixth – helped cost Boston a sweep of the three-game set.

The script for Matsuzaka at the Trop didn’t change.

And that wasn’t a good thing for the right-hander or the Red Sox.

Matsuzaka, who had another schizophrenic outing (eight strikeouts, four walks) was locked in a pitcher’s duel, and once again he blinked. Dice-K, nursing a 1-0 lead in the sixth, issued a one-out walk to Carlos Pena and then was tagged for an opposite-field homer to right by Upton that gave the Devil Rays a 2-1 lead.

The homer came on a high-and-away fastball, on Matsuzaka’s 99th pitch of the game. The blast, the 18th surrendered by Matsuzaka this season, was the second and final hit he coughed up last night. Matsuzaka was lifted after six innings, having thrown 111 pitches, only 67 of which were strikes.

It was reminiscent of Dice-K’s first appearance at the Rays’ dome, on July 29. In that one, Tampa Bay and Boston were tied, 0-0, when Dioner Navarro took Matsuzaka deep in the bottom of the seventh. The solo shot sparked the Devil Rays to a 5-2 win, with two of the runs charged to Dice-K.

Of course, with a little more offensive support last night, Matsuzaka wouldn’t have been done in by his one big mistake.

Through the early innings the Red Sox squandered several glittering chances to pull away from the Rays.

The wastefulness began in the third inning when Boston did manage to score a run, but failed to blow the game open right then and there against Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson, who had a 3-12 record and a dreadful earned-run average of 5.69 entering the game.

The inning began with Dustin Pedroia getting hit on the left elbow by a fastball. He stayed in the game and raced to third when Kevin Youkilis lofted a double off the right-field fence. And after Jackson showed he wanted no part of David Ortiz, walking him for the second time in the game, the Red Sox had the bases filled with none out.

That brought up Mike Lowell, hitting in the cleanup spot because Manny Ramirez had the night off from the starting lineup. Lowell has been a hot hitter lately, and has been especially productive against Tampa Bay this year. He was batting .488 (20 for 41).

In this at-bat, Lowell was served up a 3-and-1 cookie from Jackson, and the Boston third baseman crushed it. But he hit it on a line directly at left fielder Carl Crawford.

Pedroia scored on the sacrifice fly, putting Boston on top, 1-0, but that was all the Red Sox were able to manage in the inning because J.D. Drew hit a broken-bat popup to second and Jason Varitek bounced to first.

Boston’s Eric Hinske made it to third base with one out in the fourth on a walk, a stolen base and a throwing error on the play by catcher Josh Paul. But he was stranded. Julio Lugo bounced out to shortstop Josh Wilson with the infield in and Alex Cora, who replaced Pedroia (bruised left elbow) flied to left.

In the fifth, third-base coach DeMarlo Hale got a little giddy with Ortiz’s sudden burst of baserunning speed. Ortiz, who had legged out a triple and an infield single Tuesday night, doubled to left with one out. And when Lowell grounded a single up the middle, Hale waved home the lumbering Ortiz.

But Ortiz took a peek back to the outfield as he was about one-third of the way home, and that cost him a step or two. The throw from B.J. Upton arrived in the air and Paul slapped the tag on the sliding Ortiz for the second out of the inning. Lowell moved up to second on the throw, but after a walk to Drew, Varitek fanned on a 98 mph fastball.

--STEVE KRASNER

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:25 PM to Krasner | Permalink | Comments 1

Final: Devil Rays 2, Red Sox 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the Red Sox, opportunity wasted meant a ballgame lost tonight.

The Sox got just one run out of a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the third, had a runner thrown out at the plate in the fifth, and stranded 14 baserunners overall as they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Devil Rays in the finale of a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

B.J. Upton's two-run homer off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the sixth -- one of only two hits allowed by the Sox right-hander, who fell to 13-10 for the season -- gave Tampa Bay its margin of victory. The only other threat by the Rays came off Mike Timlin in the seventh, but Timlin escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam.

The Sox, meanwhile, scored only in the third despite having runners on base in every inning. Dustin Pedroia was hit on the elbow leading off the third -- he suffered a bruise that forced him to leave the game in the bottom of the inning -- and advanced to third base on a double by Kevin Youkilis. David Ortiz then walked, loading the bases, and Mike Lowell drove in the only Boston run with a sacrifice fly to left.

In the bottom of the fifth, third-base coach Demarlo Hale sent home Ortiz, who had doubled, on a single to center by Lowell, but Ortiz was easily thrown out at the plate by Upton.

Boston's litany of failure in crucial at-bats touched virtually every hitter in the lineup:

-- In the first, Lowell flied out with Ortiz on first and two outs.

-- In the second, Lugo grounded out with runners on first and second and two outs.

-- In the third, after the run had scored, J.D. Drew popped out and Jason Varitek grounded out with runners on first and second.

-- In the fourth, with a runner on third and one out, Lugo grounded out and Alex Cora was robbed of a hit on a running catch by Carl Crawford in left-center.

-- In the fifth, after Ortiz was thrown out at the plate, Drew walked, putting runners on first and second, but Varitek struck out on three pitches.

-- In the sixth, with a runner on first and one out, Lugo struck out and Cora grounded out.

-- In the seventh, Lowell lined out with a runner on first and one out, and Varitek struck out with runners on first and second and two out.

-- In the eighth, with a runner on second and two outs, Cora struck out.

-- And finally, in the ninth, Varitek flied out with runners on first and second to end the game.

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:15 PM | Permalink

Pregame Notes, Aug. 22

-- Manny Ramirez, as expected, is not in the starting lineup. He was aware three or four days earlier that tonight would be his opportunity to sit out, at least at the start of the game. Ramirez has played in a team-high 123 games of the 126 so far, and if needed, he'll be sent up as a pinch hitter tonight.

-- Tim Wakefield threw a side session this afternoon and reported there were no issues with his back. On Monday night, Wakefield's back stiffened up so he was pulled after only 77 pitches and seven shutout innings. He'll start again Saturday night in Chicago.

-- Jonathan Papelbon unveiled a new pitch he said he invented called the "slutter" -- a combination of a slider and a cutter -- in notching his 30th save of the season on Tuesday night. Manager Terry Francona doesn't care what he calls the pitch "as long as he gets people out."

-- Curt Schilling, a free agent after this season, intimated on a radio show in Boston yesterday that he wouldn't be averse to signing and pitching for the lowly Devil Rays. Francona's take on Schilling's comments? "As a blanket statement I'd much rather us win games and let free agency come when it's supposed to."

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:59 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups, Aug. 22

BOSTON

Pedroia 2b
Youkilis 1b
Ortiz dh
Lowell 3b
Drew rf
Varitek c
Crisp cf
Hinske lf
Lugo ss

Matsuzaka p

TAMPA BAY

Iwamura 3b
Crawford lf
Pena dh
Upton cf
Harris 2b
Gomes rf
Guzman 1b
Paul c
Wilson ss

Jackson p

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:56 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for August 22

Hot Streaks
-David Ortiz has a team-best five-game hitting streak, during which he is 9 for 20 (.450) with a double, a triple, two home runs and three walks.
-Jonathan Papelbon has worked eight consecutive scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 14.
-For Tampa Bay: Edwin Jackson is just 1-2, but has a 1.33 E.R.A. over his last four starts.

Cold Streaks
-Kyle Snyder has been scored upon in four straight relief outings, a total of six runs over 5.1 innings.
-For Tampa Bay: Delmon Young is 2 for 17 (.118) on the team's current homestand.

Red Sox vs. Edwin Jackson
-J.D. Drew, 2 for 3 (.667), 2B
-Alex Cora, 2 for 4 (.500), 2B
-David Ortiz, 1 for 3 (.333), 2 BB
-Mike Lowell, 2 for 7 (.286), HR
-Coco Crisp, 1 for 5 (.200), 3B
-Manny Ramirez, 0 for 1
-Jason Varitek, 0 for 1, BB
-Kevin Youkilis, 0 for 1
-Eric Hinske, 0 for 3, BB
-Jackson is 0-1 with an 8.68 E.R.A. in four career appearances (one start) against Boston.

Devil Rays vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka
-Akinori Iwamura, 5 for 9 (.556), 2B, BB
-Brendan Harris, 3 for 7 (.429), 3B, BB
-Carl Crawford, 2 for 6 (.333)
-Jonny Gomes, 2 for 7 (.286), BB
-Dioner Navarro, 2 for 8 (.250), HR
-Carlos Pena, 2 for 8 (.250), 2B, BB
-Delmon Young, 2 for 8 (.250)
-B.J. Upton, 0 for 5, BB
-Greg Norton, 0 for 6
-Matsuzaka is 1-2 with a 3.54 E.R.A. in three starts this year against Tampa Bay.

More Stuff
-All-time series: Boston 107, Tampa Bay 55. At Tropicana Field: Boston 48, Tampa Bay 33. This season: Boston 9, Tampa Bay 2.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:39 PM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: In praise of Papelbon

Sean McAdam joins us again for today's edition of projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the full audio file. The topics today: last night's win at Tampa Bay; Jonathan Papelbon's consecutive 30-save seasons; Chris Carter's arrival and what it might (or might not) mean to the team in September; and Daisuke Matsuzaka's preference for longer rest.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On last night's game: "The offense definitely was the story last night. Lester made a couple of mistakes, leaving hanging breaking balls that were hit for multi-run homers -- first it was Carlos Pena and then Iwamura later in the game -- and it was not the kind of start that he turned in last week against the same Tampa team. Then again, it's a reminder that this guy is not yet a finished product, as there's been some inconsistency here. But the offense once again produced runs in the early going, which is something that this team has not done a lot of in the last couple of weeks."

On Papelbon's achievement: "It's a great testament to Papelbon, given how uncertain things were just about a year ago at this time. ... For Papelbon to come back and have the kind of season that he's had -- with some restrictions placed on him in terms of usage -- is quite a positive sign for the Red Sox."

On Carter: "I'm not even sure, despite the fine season that he's had in Triple-A, that he'll be a guy they'll bring up. From people I've talked to, as good a hitter as he is, he's pretty suspect defensively and he needs some work at first base. He has played some outfield before in his career. He'd be a left-handed bat; I just don't know that they would necessarily want somebody who has not had a single big-league at-bat to be thrown into a pennant race and have him pinch hit or come off the bench."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:06 AM to McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Wednesday, August 22

JUST SLUPER: He calls it a ''slutter'' -- a cross between a slider and a cut fastball -- and Jonathan Papelbon (above, AP Photo) used it to finally subdue the Devil Rays on a night when the score was a lot closer than the game felt like. Steven Krasner has the details of Papelbon's new pitch and the Sox' 8-6 win, which Papelbon closed out by recording the final four outs . . . including three by strikeout. The save was his 30th, making him the first Red Sox reliever in history to have two 30-save seasons. (Worcester Telegram) He's also only the fourth pitcher in MLB history -- Billy Koch, Kaz Sasaki and Todd Worrell are the others -- to record 30 saves in each of their first two full seasons in the majors.

WINNER IN NAME ONLY: Papelbon saved the victory for Jon Lester, but Krasner reports the young left-hander didn't feel like a winner after a 5 2/3-inning outing in which he surrendered five runs, all of which scored on two-out home runs (a two-run shot by Carlos Pena in the first, and a three-run blast by Akinori Iwamura in the fifth).

SCOUTING REPORT: The Sox announced that Chris Carter is, indeed, the player coming to Boston in the Wily Mo Pena trade. (projo.com) As it happens, Pawtucket shortstop Jed Lowrie was a teammate of Carter's at Stanford and last night he told Joe McDonald what to expect from the Sox' newest acquisition. (projo.com) McDonald also notes that between Lowrie, Carter and Craig Breslow (who graduated from Yale with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry), the conversation in the McCoy Stadium clubhouse might be a bit more highbrow than it usually is.

JOB HUNTING: With the season winding down and no new contract with the Red Sox in sight, Curt Schilling is beginning to weigh his options. (Boston Herald) One of those options, apparently, is Tampa Bay (Boston Globe), which intrigues the Devil Rays. (St. Petersburg Times) SI.com's Jon Heyman notes that with Carlos Zambrano off the market, Schilling might be the best free-agent starter available this offseason.

ONE OF US: Eric Gagne has been struggling, but he's getting plenty of support from the tight-knit Red Sox bullpen. (Boston Herald)

THE FORGOTTEN MAN: These are the final few months of Matt Clement's contract with the Red Sox, and the odds are miniscule that they'll offer him another. And he's still not quite ready to pitch after last year's shoulder surgery. Even so, he feels better than he's felt in years and is looking forward to getting back on the mound, somewhere. (Boston Globe)

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? The game of musical catchers in the Boston organization that was started when Doug Mirabelli got hurt Friday has resulted in Dusty Brown landing in Pawtucket. (projo.com) McDonald reports on the performance last night of the guy Sox fans see quite a bit of in spring training -- he invariably catches the last few innings of almost every exhibition game televised back here -- and then disappears once the season starts.

FOR SALE: For a mere $169,000, you can go on eBay and purchase David Ortiz' car. (Projo Sox Blog) Our old friend Steve Silva calls it a case Papi being Manny. (Boston Dirt Dogs)

CHATTY: Theo Epstein participated in a chat on Boston.com yesterday afternoon, and when asked the inevitable question about the Yankees cutting into the Sox lead, he replied: ''We'd rather be up 14 games, of course, but we have to be somewhat satisfied with a five-game lead given how well the Yankees have played over the last 2 1/2 months. We're well enough positioned now so that we'll get what we deserve. If we play well down the stretch, we should get into October without concern. If we don't play well when it matters ... well, then we probably don't deserve to be playing into October. I am confident that these players have what it takes.''

UPDATE: The Sox' lead is now six games, not five, after the Yankees got hammered by the Angels, 18-9. (New York Daily News) Mike Mussina put the Yanks in a 7-1 hole after two innings (New York Post), and though they nearly climbed out with four runs in the third, the bullpen -- there's that word again -- blew things up by allowing five runs in the third and five runs again in the sixth. Mussina was so bad that the Journal-News' Peter Abraham wonders if he'd be on the postseason roster should the Yankees make it.

RELAX: Abraham, on the LoHud Yankees Blog, is urging Yankee Universe to remain calm in light of New York's five-losses-in-eight-games stumble. He also makes some very sober points about Joba Chamberlain, warning that those who want to turn the Yankee 'pen into all Joba all the time run the risk of destroying his career. And if you don't believe him, he points to Cole Hamels. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

PERFECT TEN: Garret Anderson led the charge for the Angels last night with 10 RBI. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

GOOD INVESTMENT: SI.com's Tom Verducci says Jorge Posada is defying the laws of aging with a career year at age 36 and would be worth a premium price in the free-agent market.

CALM DOWN: The Mets officially pulled the plug on the notion of Pedro Martinez' imminent return to New York, as ''bullpen coach and longtime confidante'' Guy Conti told the New York Daily News that Petey ''definitely needs one or two more" rehab starts.

WELCOME ABOARD: The Mets laid out the red carpet for the newly acquired Jeff Conine. (New York Daily News)

AND WELCOME AT LAST: The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro says the Shea Stadium faithful are finally warming up to Carlos Beltran. Perhaps the Mets' thrilling win over the Padres softened their mood. (New York Post)

NAMING NAMES: SI.com reports that George Mitchell has been given the list of players who allegedly bought steroids from Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant.

NOTHING LIKE A GOOD PIECE OF ALUMINUM: Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer is part of a group that is fighting the trend to replace metal bats with wooden ones. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

OOPS: The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Bud Shaw says it's time for the Indians to step up. Then they went out and got one-hit by the Tigers in a 2-1 loss that narrowed their A.L. Central lead to one-half game. (Detroit News)

AIMING CY: Erik Bedard continues to build his credentials for the A.L. Cy Young Award by beating the Rangers, raising his record to 13-4 and tying the Orioles' record for strikeouts in a single season with 218. (Baltimore Sun)

QUICKLY: The Orioles are expected to announce today that Dave Trembley's contract has been extended through 2008 (Baltimore Sun) . . . The Astros' Jason Jennings will undergo season-ending elbow surgery (Houston Chronicle) . . . Alfonso Soriano says he'll be ready this weekend, but the Cubs are sticking to Labor Day as his first day back. (Chicago Sun Times)

OLD FRIENDS: Dan Duquette may become the Pirates' CEO (Beaver County Times) . . . Cliff Floyd came off the restricted list and led the Cubs over the Giants. (Chicago Sun Times)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:36 AM | Permalink