In an odd way, pitching a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in his second career major league start may have been one of the worst things that could have happened to Clay Buchholz. By becoming the first Red Sox rookie ever to pitch a no-hitter with a 10-0 masterpiece at Fenway Park on Sept. 1, Buchholz was elevated from one of the organization’s most promising prospects to one of the most watched in Major League Baseball. With increased expectations comes the natural desire to fulfill great promise. That added exertion can consequently result in minor alterations to the form that led to him becoming a top prospect in the first place.
For Buchholz, this and other factors contributed to maddening inconsistency this season. He earned a 2-3 record and a 5.53 ERA in eight starts for the Red Sox before a broken fingernail and blister on his right middle finger landed him on the disabled list in mid-May. When he was physically able to be activated, however, the Sox decided it was better to send him back to the minors to get straightened out.
When he returns tonight to face the Orioles again in the first game of the final three-game series before the All-Star break, Buchholz will do so on the heels of a two-month mental breather that allowed him to work on the mechanics of his fastball delivery, which the organization hopes will lead to the return of his no-hit form. Nearly all indications point to the return to Triple-A Pawtucket as being a resounding success. By moving his arm/hand farther away from his head on his fastball delivery, Buchholz rediscovered the movement on his primary pitch, which translated to a 4-2 record and a 2.47 ERA in nine starts. That included a 4-0, 0.40 ERA run of dominance in four starts from June 14-30 before falling to Lehigh Valley last Saturday. He allowed five runs on six hits and two walks in five innings against the Iron Pigs, but observers said some of the blame for the hiccup was due to a laughably-inconsistent strike zone.
Nation Notes: With two hits Wednesday, Dustin Pedroia extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games, even though he started 0 for 4 in the 18-5 rout of the Twins. During the streak, Pedroia is 36 for 76 (.474). It’s the longest hitting streak of the season for the Sox, and the longest for a Sox second baseman since Todd Walker’s 19-gamer from May 10 to June 5, 2003. With three RBIs Wednesday, Manny Ramirez now has 1,663 in his career, four behind Sammy Sosa for 23d all time.
