The last time that Clay Buchholz took the mound for the Boston Red Sox, rain interrupted his start. But instead of being done for the day, he endured the two hour rain delay by throwing three simulated innings and then came back out to give the Red Sox a total of five innings on that day to pick up the win.
Entering play Friday night, Buchholz hadn’t had too much success pitching in New York. He’d made three starts there where he was 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA. Given the fact that he had pitched well in his last two starts, it looked as though he might be able to put those New York demons to rest.
It was a vintage Buchholz performance on Friday night that helped his team to a 5-4 win over the Yankees to end a two-game losing streak.
Now I know vintage is a strong word considering the fact that Buchholz hasn’t been in the big leagues long but it was the Buchholz that we saw for almost all of last year. A confident one, one who could throw any of his arsenal of pitches for strikes.
And that’s exactly what he did to the Yankees lineup.
He mixed in all of his pitches and used his two-seam fastball to make the others effective. He garnered a team-high 15 swing-and-misses this season and within that he struck out seven batters. He would end up allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and the seven punchouts over the course of seven innings. His one mistake was to Russell Martin who took a Buchholz offering out of the park for a two-run homer.
With this start, Buchholz is 3-0 in his last three starts with a 1.93 ERA while striking out 15 in 18 2/3 innings. This is the Buchholz we’ve been waiting to see this season, you know the one who earned the four-year extension from his exploits last year.
On the offensive side of things, Adrian Gonzalez continues to rake. He homered again on Friday night, a mammoth blast into the second deck. He also drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and the two RBIs he had on the night gives him an American League-leading 31. He also lead the AL in total bases and is now hitting .329 on the season.
Kevin Youkilis also exacted a little revenge against his “buddy” Joba Chamberlain by hitting an opposite field home run. You may remember back in 2007 when Joba buzzed Youkilis twice on consecutive pitches. While Youk said after the game, there wasn’t really a revenge factor, you know he was just saying that as to not provide any bulletin board material. I still think though that this little matchup will be interesting to watch if they face each other again down the road. After all, there’s still 14 games left between the two teams.
The road back to .500 continues tonight with Josh Beckett, who’s been the best pitcher the Red Sox have had all season. His record might not indicate that but he’s also been a victim of the bullpen.
Speaking of the bullpen, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon both decided to make it interesting. But both prevailed in the end. That’s all that matters right now.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Red Sox step up in opener [Boston Globe]
Sounding out Lackey [Boston Globe]
Gonzalez making own mark [Boston Globe]
A blueprint win, but details still sketchy [Boston Globe]
Stars align for Red Sox [Boston Herald]
Cheesey does it for Gonzo [Boston Herald]
Bard turns on the heat [Boston Herald]
Carl has Grander designs [Boston Herald]
‘Little’ wonder why Sox prevail [Boston Herald]
The secret to Adrian Gonzalez’ power; Clay Buchholz makes best pitch [Clubhouse Insider]
Buchholz hurls Sox past Yanks, 5-4 [CSNNE.com]
Buchholz finally finds his form [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox notes: Gonzalez on a tear [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 [ESPN Boston]
Video: Nomar on Red Sox-Yankees [ESPN Boston]
Adrian Gonzalez is cranking out hits, just as the Boston Red Sox wanted [ESPN Boston]
Epstein: Path to improvement for Red Sox isn’t the trade market (yet) [Full Count]
Closing Time: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 [Full Count]
Adrian Gonzalez on Mark Teixeira and the power of cheesesteak [Full Count]
Red Sox Take Opener From Yankees, 5-4 [Hartford Courant]
Crawford’s Hitting Better, But He’s Still Hitting Eighth [Hartford Courant]
Adrian Gonzalez Building Memories Homer By Homer [Hartford Courant]
Video: Clay Buchholz Finding Groove, As He Has Everything Working in Win Over Yankees [NESN.com]
Clay Buchholz Continues Resurgence With Dominant Effort in New York [NESN.com]
Adrian Gonzalez Turns to Cheesesteak to Fuel Latest Power Display [NESN.com]
Gonzalez, Youkilis homers sink Yanks [Providence Journal]
Despite Sox struggles, Yanks haven’t been much better [Providence Journal]
Vintage Buchholz shuts down Bombers [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Roster moves? Not now, says Epstein [Providence Journal]
Ellsbury exits after steal; Sox not worried [RedSox.com]
Adrian’s star shines bright in Boston’s slow start [RedSox.com]
Well-rounded Lowrie impressing Epstein [RedSox.com]
To Red Sox, ‘every series is important’ [RedSox.com]
Wheeler progressing; Jenks further behind [RedSox.com]
Getting Lackey on track high on Sox’s list [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.
Before Monday night’s game with the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox placed him on the disabled list with a right elbow strain. Taking Lackey’s place on the 25-man roster is 
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