
Fenway Park is apparently where the homers are as the Boston Red Sox hit six of them in their 10-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles last night.
Dustin Pedroia started the homer brigade with a two-run homer and later added a solo shot. Kevin Youkilis added a solo home run as did Alex Gonzalez and David Ortiz. J.D. Drew made sure the game was out of reach with a three-run homer in the third inning.
The story of the night was the home runs for the Red Sox but it easily could have been the pitching performance of Clay Buchholz. We’ve seen Buchholz be given large leads before this season only to blow them and be taken out before the end of the 5th.
Last night, he made sure that didn’t happen as he brought his “A” game. He had good location and command of his fastball and as has been the case as of late, his changeup was nasty. He only allowed three hits over the course of seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Buchholz was never in any real trouble during the game.
For the most part his success last night stemmed from being able to get ahead in the count and making his pitches. Also to note, Victor Martinez caught him and the pair has really worked great together. Buchholz is still young but he’s showing the growth and maturity that will make him a future big league ace.
Right now, he is clearly the number three starter should the Red Sox make the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs, the Red Sox lead in the wild card standings is two games over the Texas Rangers. They also lead the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays by 8.5 games. The Red Sox are nine games behind the New York Yankees and any chances of a division crown would take a total collapse from their rivals to the south. A proposition that’s unlikely to happen.
After a dismal performance his last time out, Paul Byrd looks to recapture the success he had in 2009 Fenway Park debut. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EDT.


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UConn Huskies defensive end Lindsey Witten was the named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after UConn’s 23-16 win over the Ohio University Bobcats.
