The Red Sox have had a disappointing first half of their season, but they were able to end it on a bright note with a big time win over the Astros. Clay Buchholz had the best outing yet in 2014 and he got some major support from the Sox offense. Let’s hope that the Sox build upon this win after the break and into the 2nd half of the season.
The Red Sox got on the board and the starting pitcher from the Astros got chased from the game before Clay Buchholz even took the mound. Brock Holt hit a leadoff homerun to put the Sox up 1-0. The Sox then were able to load the bases with only one out when the Astros decided to pull their starter Brad Peacock. The Sox were not able to get any more runs in the 1st, but they were able to face the bullpen for the rest of the game. The Sox added another run in the 2nd inning when Vazquez hit into a double play, but Bogaerts was still able to score from 3rd base. The Sox added two more runs in the 3rd inning when Bradley Jr hit an RBI single and then Bogaerts hit a sac fly RBI. Sox 4-0.
The Sox didn’t score in the 4th inning, but got right back to it in the 5th inning. Vazquez hit an RBI single to score Nava and then JBJ was able to also come in to score on a throwing error by the Astros. Sox 6-0. In the 7th the Sox added two more runs when Vazquez hit an RBI sac fly and then the Astros ended up loading the bases and walking in a run when they issued a walk to David Ortiz. Sure, it is never good for a ballclub to walk in a run, but then again giving up one run to Papi is probably better than giving up a grand slam if you are the Astros. Sox 8-0. The Sox got their final 3 runs in the top of the 9th to put their lead in the double digits. Mike Carp hit a 2 run RBI triple to put the Sox up 10-0 and then Papi hit an RBI sac grounder to score Carp. Sox 11-0.
While the Sox bats were going to town on Astros pitching, Clay Buchholz was absolutely dealing. Buchholz has struggled for much of the season, but has shown signs of being that dominant guy we saw last year since coming off the DL. Buchholz had his best outing to date in 2014. Buchholz pitched a complete game shutout and was able to accomplish it while striking out 12 batters and only throwing 109 pitches. This version of Buchholz is the one we need to see when the All Star Break is over and the Sox start off the second half of the season.
Red Sox 11 Astros 0 BOXSCORE
WP: Buchholz (4-5) LP: Peacock (3-6)
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