|
Bump in road for Buchholz |
|
|
Sunday, 06 July 2008 |
|
By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer PAWTUCKET – Clay Buchholz’s development is still ongoing. After all, he’s still in Triple-A.
Instead of ironing out his fastball command, which is the assignment the Red Sox gave Buchholz upon shipping him down, the prized right-hander was forced in his start Saturday night to learn how to channel his emotions when he’s getting squeezed.
A few pitches that appeared strikes from where Buchholz stood weren’t called, which led to some frustrating moments. It all played a role in a five-inning outing in which Buchholz was tagged for five runs on six hits in Pawtucket’s 5-2 loss to Lehigh Valley.
The win for the IronPigs represents the franchise’s first-ever against the PawSox. Lehigh Valley entered the night winless in nine attempts against Pawtucket in 2008.
The most glaring example of strike zone shrinking for Buchholz came in the third inning, Pawtucket holding a 2-0 lead. Mike Cervenak doubled home the visitors’ first run on a curve.
Buchholz fell behind 2-0 to the next batter, Andy Tracy. Both pitches yielded looks of dissatisfaction from Buchholz. PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur went out to calm down the 23-year-old (he turns 24 next month) only to have more frustration seep in three pitches later. Tracy hammered a 3-1 pitch into the left field home run berm, a shot that gave the IronPigs a 4-2 cushion.
Buchholz had no physical issues, but does feel he can take something valuable away from his 88-pitch night.
“It’s one of the few times I can say that a couple pitches, if they were called differently, would have reflected the final numbers. But the [home plate umpire] was squeezing both sides,” said Buchholz, who dropped to 4-2 with Pawtucket. “If it’s a tight zone, you’ve got to throw where they’ve called it a strike. It was hard for me to do that today because every time I thought I threw a good pitch, I would have to throw something I didn’t think I needed to throw.”
Buchholz spent some time in manager Ron Johnson’s office before heading off into the night.
“This game is easy to play when things are going well,” said Johnson. “We’re here to expose guys to situations and to learn how to deal with [adversity].”
The subject that comes up every time Buchholz pitches for the PawSox is how the right-hander can bolster his resume.
By resume, we’re talking how his pitching performance can impact his return to Boston.
He’s posted ungodly numbers in his four previous outings (four wins with 0.40 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings).
Johnson mentioned that Buchholz has zero restrictions at this point. The only desire from the powers-that-be is that they’d like to see Buchholz throw his fastball “60 percent of the time,” a number Johnson mentioned in his pregame chat.
Buchholz says he doesn’t keep a fixed ratio in mind once he steps on the mound. Five of the six hits he allowed came on fastballs.
“It doesn’t go through your mind when you’re out there. You’ve still got to pitch and you’re out there to win,” said Buchholz. “At the same time, you can’t throw 15 straight fastballs. It’s just the scale they want you to think of.”
Buchholz rebounded with a clean fourth that featured his curve and change-up for strikeout pitches. Lehigh Valley nipped him for a run in his final inning of work, a two-out single from Cervenak.
Chris Carter put the PawSox 2-0 in a hurry with a two-run round tripper in the first. The shot was Carter’s 18th, his second in as many nights. Those were the only runs Lehigh Valley starter Travis Blackley would allow. Working seven innings, Blackley fanned eight and walked three.
Pawtucket had a threat going in the eighth, loading the bases with one down after Lehigh Valley reliever Stephen Randolph walked three of the four hitters he faced. In came Matt Childers, who induced Keith Ginter to bounce into an inning-ending double play ball.
***
EXTRA BASES: One night after belting a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning (No. 23), Jeff Bailey was given Saturday night off. Johnson took a similar approach with Joe Thurston and Jed Lowrie during this abbreviated holiday homestand. … The PawSox embark on their longest stretch in which they don’t play at McCoy Stadium. The 11-day stretch features a four-game set in Richmond followed by four in Norfolk, a series that will close the curtain on the first half. It’s not until after the three-day All-Star Break that Pawtucket returns home, which is July 17. … Johnson was asked if he could grow comfortable with Hunter Jones serving as the setup guy with Chris Smith in the closer’s role. The pair combined to nail down the final nine outs Friday with Smith earning his ninth save. “The next time it could be reversed and Smith could get multiple innings,” said Johnson. … Even though David Pauley wasn’t chosen to the All-Star team, that doesn’t necessarily close the books since pitchers pull out all the time. Pauley seeks his league-leading 11th win tonight against the Braves. He’s currently tied with Syracuse’s John Parrish with 10. |
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 July 2008 )
|
Horoscope