Clay Buchholz and the Boston Red Sox spoiled the return of Manny Ramirez to Fenway Park as they were able to complete the sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out an 8-1 homestand.
That 8-1 homestand has propelled the Red Sox right back to the top of the AL East as they now sit just one game behind the New York Yankees for first place. They are in a virtual tie for second place with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox are also tied with the Yankees for the most wins in MLB but are one game behind because they’ve played two more games than the Yanks.
It didn’t look like it was going to be a good night for Buchholz in the 1st inning as the Dodgers loaded up the bases with just one hit due to command issues for Buchholz. But he was able to rebound by striking out Garrett Anderson and got Casey Blake to ground back to him for the final out.
He allowed a hit in the second but from there was outstanding. His long first inning with 30 pitches kept him from going longer than he should have as he went 6 2/3 innings. He set down 11 straight Dodgers before an Anderson ground rule double in the 7th. He got the next two outs before he hit Blake DeWitt with a pitch. That would end his night and Daniel Bard came in and bailed him out by getting Jamey Carroll to ground into a fielder’s choice.
For Buchholz it was his 10th win of the season which ties him for the most in the American League with David Price of the Rays and Phil Hughes of the Yankees. It’s likely that one of these three could be the starter in the MLB All-Star Game and you should see these three on the roster.
The catalyst of the offense last night was Dustin Pedroia who had three of the seven hits by the Red Sox last night. But it was his heads up baserunning in the 1st inning that really turned the game around.
Pedroia had reached on an infield single with one out. And with the Dodgers in the shift for David Ortiz, Pedey stole second and Russell Martin’s throw went past second base to Casey Blake who backing up the throw. Noticing no one was at third base, Pedroia took off for third as no one was covering and he slide in safely. This was key as they decided to intentionally walk Big Papi and then Pedroia came in on an excuse me check swing infield single by Kevin Youkilis.
That was an MVP play by Pedroia and it really set the tone on a night where hits were hard to come by off of Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda who struck out nine.
The Red Sox are off today as they make their way to Colorado for a three-game set with the Rockies that starts tomorrow before heading to San Francisco to finish up interleague play.
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Buchholz offers painful reminder to Dodgers of what they almost had [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Sox marvel at Pedroia’s picture perfect play [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Buchholz, Sox flying at finish [Boston Globe]
Man, this was one strange weekend! [Boston Globe]
Buchholz benefited from some great escapes [Boston Globe]
Red-hot Pedroia puts on a show [Boston Globe]
Recap: Red Sox 2, Dodgers 0 [Boston Herald]
Manny Ramirez’ still a quitter [Boston Herald]
Dustin Pedroia shifts into gear [Boston Herald]
Red Sox star: I’d trade my talent for sons’ health [Boston Herald]
Mike Cameron contributes [Boston Herald]
Buchholz wins 10th as Sox sweep Dodgers [CSN New England]
Sox begin ‘Football at Fenway’ publicity campaign [CSN New England]
Schilling’s thoughts on Manny [ESPN Boston]
Thanks for everything, Henry [Extra Bases]
Buchholz looking like an All-Star [Extra Bases]
A special Father’s Day story [Extra Bases]
Sox draftee Ranaudo impressive in Cape debut [Full Count]
Closing Time: Red Sox 2, Dodgers 0 [Full Count]
On Father’s Day, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona Recalls Growing Up Around Baseball [NESN.com]
Manny Ramirez ‘Sorry’ For Way His Career Ended With Red Sox [NESN.com]
Red Sox Continue Tear Through June With Sweep of Dodgers, 8-1 Homestand [NESN.com]
Beltre just keeps picking at third base for Red Sox [Projo Sox Blog]
Another Buchholz gem leads to sweep of L.A. [Providence Journal]
All-Star candidate Buchholz comfortable, confident [Providence Journal]
Youkilis learned a lot by watching Manny hit [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Francona remembers being the little guy in dad’s clubhouse [Providence Journal]
Red Sox hope to get Drew back Tuesday [RedSox.com]
Cameron returns to center-field duties [RedSox.com]
Red Sox prepare for ‘Football at Fenway’ [RedSox.com]
Pedroia puts wheels on display [RedSox.com]
Buchholz’s gem sweeps LA out of Boston [RedSox.com]
Sox, Rox renew ’07 Series matchup [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, you can head over to the LA Daily News, LA Times and Orange County Register websites.
Photo credit: Dustin Pedroia – AP, Clay Buchholz – Reuters Pictures
