A huge first inning by the Boston Red Sox gave starter Clay Buchholz all the room he would need to win his major league debut 8-4 at Fenway Park in the first game of a Friday day-night doubleheader with the Los Angeles Angels.
Nerves got to Buchholz a bit in the first inning, he threw 5 straight balls before getting a strike on Orlando Cabrera. After the lead off walk to Chone Figgins, he got Cabrera to pop out to Alex Cora at short as Figgins who was off on the pitch had to scamper back to first. Vladimir Guerrero then hit a catchable ball to right but it was boxed around by J.D. Drew for his 6th error of the year allowing Figgins to go to third and putting Bad Vladdy Daddy on second. Garrett Anderson then grounded out to Kevin Youkilis at first to score Figgins and put the Halos up 1-0 with an unearned run. But the rookie showed was he was made of as he came back to get his first major league strikeout by putting Gary Matthews down.
In the bottom of the first the Red Sox decided to give the rook some breathing room and beat the Angels starter John Lackey like the bitch he is. Dustin Pedroia led off with a ground rule double that ran the railing in the rightfield corner near the “Pesky Pole”. Youkilis struck out swinging but the fun was about to start. David Ortiz blasted a ball into the rightfield grandstand for his 20th homerun of the year to give Boston a 2-1 lead. Manny Ramirez followed with a single to center and would score all the way from first when Drew atoned for his error with a triple off the wall in left centerfield that bounced over the head of Reggie Willits for a 3-1 lead. Mike Lowell dropped a single into leftfield that scored Drew and it was 4-1 Boston. Coco Crisp flew out to Guerrero in right for the second out but Doug Mirabelli just missed a two run homerun and ended up with a RBI double that scored Lowell for a 5-1 Sox lead. Cora the ninth hitter of the inning, doubled down the leftfield line to score Mirabelli who looked to have slipped and hurt his knee rounding third, to give the home towners a 6-1 bulge. Pedroia, in his second at bat of the inning, grounded out to Figgins to end the beating.
Lackey (15-7), gave up 6 runs in the first inning the most he had given up in any inning all year. In fact, he had only given up 9 first runs in 24 starts all year and ended up throwing 46 pitches in the tough first frame as the Sox got him for 2 singles, 3 doubles and triple and homerun.
Jason Varitek replaced Mirabelli behind the dish to start the second inning. It’s reported that Mirabelli has a strained right calf and he was placed on the 15-Day DL.
Both pitchers escaped jams in the second inning. Buchholz got a much-needed twin killing to get out of a first and second with one out jam, while Lackey labored again. He had the bases loaded with one out on a pair of singles by Ortiz and Drew sandwiched around a hit bats man (Ramirez) but he got Lowell to fly out to shallow left center and Crisp hit into a fielder choice to end the threat.
Buchholz was able to get a second twin killing to help him out in the third and in the fourth he worked around a one out double to Casey 
Kotchman, his second hit of the afternoon. He was able to get Eric Aybar to pop out and Jeff Mathis to ground out to Cora.
After a quiet third, the Sox added a run in the fourth to expand the lead to 7-1. Youkilis singled to left and after a pair of pop outs, Drew singled to right and on the throw from Guerrero the ball hit Youkilis and skipped into the dugout allowing him to score and put Drew at third. Lackey was able to comeback and strikeout Lowell, it was his final batter.
The Angels pecked away at Buchholz for a pair of runs in the fifth. With one out four consecutive singles by Figgins, Cabrera, Guerrero (RBI) and Anderson (RBI) produced the runs that made it 7-3 before Matthews lined into an unassisted double play by Youkilis.
The Halos added a fourth run in the sixth off of Buchholz (1-0), when Kotchman got his third hit of the day, a double to right that went off of Youkilis’ glove and into the seats. Aybar sacrificed him to third on a nice bunt to Youkilis that he almost beat for a hit and Mathis drove Kotchman in with a sacrifice fly to center to cut the lead to 7-4.
Chris Bootcheck relieved Lackey and allowed a lead off single in the fifth to Crisp and then balked him to second. Crisp ended up being left there. In the sixth he worked around a two out single by Ramirez and escaped without any damage. He also worked a 1-2-3 seventh by getting three fly outs.
After a clean seventh inning by Hideki Okajima that included a pair of strikeouts on just 10 pitches he was left in to start the 8th. Anderson led off with a ringing single to right over Pedroia’s leap, Matthews flew out to Drew on the track for the first out, Kotchman singled to right for his first career four-hit game and that sent Anderson to second. Okajima got his third K of the afternoon getting Aybar to chase a ball in the dirt. That was the end of him as Terry Francona removed him to Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon was able to get pinch hitter Maicer Izturis to fly out to Crisp and leave a pair on base.
The Sox added a run in the 8th off of new pitcher Greg Jones when with one-out Pedroia hit his 6th HR of the year into the Monster Seats. Youkilis followed with a walk and with him off and running Ortiz grounded out to second keeping the Sox out of a double play. A pitch hit Ramirez for the second time in the game, it was the second time in Manny’s career he has been hit twice in a game. Drew then struck out swing to end the inning.
Papelbon struck out Willits, who went down by way of the K for the 3rd time, to start the ninth, the got Figgins to whiff as well for the second out. Cabrera would single to left but Papelbon went after the free swinging Guerrero and got him to fly out to Crisp to end the game and seal his 29th save in 31 chances.
Notes and Musings:
Clay Buchholz is the ninth pitcher to start for the Red Sox in 2007. 30 minutes prior to game time there was still no word on the roster move, although Wily Mo Pena was not in the clubhouse. Buchholz wore #61 which was last worn by Kason Gabbard.
Buchholz turned 23 on Tuesday. He is the third member of the 2005 draft class to make the majors. The others are Craig Hansen and Jacoby Ellsbury.
In the first inning the Sox announced that Wily Mo Pena (.218 5 HR 18 RBI) was traded to the Washington Nationals along with cash considerations for a player to be named later.
Kevin Cash is on a plane from Ottawa to join the team for the second game of the doubleheader. He will be the second catcher as Mirabelli was placed on the 15-day DL.
Today was the 6th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon. You can pledge by calling 877.738.1234 or go to the Jimmy Fund Website.
The Angels are on a six-day, seven game roadie to Toronto and Boston and they are 1-2 after three games.
This game was the make up from the April 15th rainout.
The Angels are 8-15 in the last 23 road games and haven’t won a road series since June 29-July at Baltimore.
Los Angeles has the second most wins in baseball with 70. Boston is first with 73.
Coming into the day-night twinbill the Angels are 34-13 in games started by John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. The duo ranks 2nd (Escobar 2.68) and 5th (Lackey 3.08) in ERA.
The Red Sox lead the season series 5-2. The Sox are 16-5 in the last 21 home games against Los Angeles. They lead the series 306-262 and are 171-113 overall vs. the Angles at Fenway Park.
Pitcher Carlos Zambrano, a member of Carl Everett’s Crazy Hall of Fame, is off the open market having signed a 5-year, $91.5 million dollar contract extension with the Chicago Cubs. Zambrano, who is 26, is 14-9 this season and has a 78-51 career record.
The more I hear Jim Rice, the more I think he is a Hall of Famer. The man belongs in Cooperstown and the Red Sox should be openly campaigning for the man.
All of the Sox starters had a hit in the game. Only Varitek who replaced Mirabelli went hitless.
