The Boston Red Sox once again ran into a elite pitcher in Miami Marlins starter Mark Buehrle. But this time around the results were different.
After being held to one hit through the first six innings by Buehrle, the offense broke through in the 7th inning and backed up the outstanding outing from Clay Buchholz in a 2-1 win to end the four-game losing streak.
Buehrle got the first out of the 7th in Kevin Youkilis. Will Middlebrooks followed it up with the second hit of the night, a single. He then came around to score all the way from first on a Kelly Shoppach double. Shoppach didn’t last long on the bases as a Mike Aviles single brought him home.
Shoppach got the start against Buehrle last night because he’s got good numbers against them and the move paid off for Bobby Valentine as he had the first hit of the night and the big hit in the 7th.
Coming off the complete game effort, Buchholz continued his run last night although it looked as though he might get hit early.
For the second straight game, Jose Reyes led off with a triple. But unlike Monday night when he came in to score, this time around he was stranded at third as Buchholz struck out the next three batters he faced.
Buchholz was never really in any major trouble other than that 1st inning and in the 3rd inning. He was bailed out in the 3rd when Reyes lost track out of the outs and made a base running error by heading to home plate. The Marlins did get their only run of the night in the 7th when Logan Morrison led off the inning with a home run.
He had also of his pitches working for him last night as he used all of them to rack up a season-high nine strikeouts while walking just one. Over his last four outings, Buchholz has given up just five runs in 31 innings of work which amounts to a 1.45 ERA. Because of that, his ERA 7.84 to 5.38 over that time.
You still have to be a little concerned with the offense as they weren’t able to come up with the big hit until that 7th inning. They had their chances earlier in the game.
But right now, a win is a win. And more importantly, it’s a confidence boosting win that hopefully will bring good things tonight in the finale of the three-game set.
We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Sox throw in a good one [Boston Globe]
No review was necessary [Boston Globe]
This anemic offense could use a little iron [Boston Globe]
Voices line up for Red Sox announcer job [Boston Globe]
Clay Buchholz comes up big [Boston Herald]
Kevin Youkilis about good to go [Boston Herald]
Kelly Shoppach doubles fun [Boston Herald]
Felix Doubront in good shape [Boston Herald]
The importance of rediscovering Clay Buchholz [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
Buchholz strong again as Sox hook Marlins, 2-1 [CSN New England]
Aviles continues to come through for Sox [CSN New England]
First pitch: Buchholz is Red Sox’ king of the hill [CSN New England]
Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 2, Marlins 1 [ESPN Boston]
Youkilis hopes to play Wednesday [ESPN Boston]
Persistence pays off for Buchholz [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Clay Buchholz dominates Marlins in Sox’ 2-1 win [Full Count]
Nuggetpalooza: Some Red Sox stat nuggets you might have missed [Full Count]
Clay Buchholz’ Inspiring Transformation Continues to Build Character for Red Sox [NESN.com]
Clay Buchholz Keeps Simple Frame of Mind in Successful Run (Video) [NESN.com]
Josh Reddick for Andrew Bailey Trade Could Be Worth Revisiting Down the Road and Other MLB Thoughts [NESN.com]
Hill relieved with diagnosis on left elbow [RedSox.com]
Podsednik continues to spark Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Ortiz out of lineup for just second time [RedSox.com]
Doubront eyes rebound, series win vs. Marlins [RedSox.com]
Buchholz slams brakes on Red Sox’s skid [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, be sure to head over to the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post and South Florida Sun-Sentinel websites. Also be sure to check out our Bloguin brother Marlins Big Catch for all of your Nationals needs.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: Getty Images
