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In his best start this season, Clay Buchholz pitched like a man on a mission on Thursday night.  Ultimately however, two errors, including one by Buchholz himself, combined with the offense not finding a rhythm against Texas starter C.J. Wilson, meant that his strong outing was squandered.

With Daisuke Matsuzaka completing his rehab assignment, Buchholz needed to show the Red Sox he was deserving of his rotation spot. The righty showed just that, giving up just six hits while striking out 10 Rangers in 6.2 innings.

Buchholz cruised through six innings but didn’t make it out of the seventh before giving up three runs.  Josh Hamilton led off the inning with double and scored on a Nelson Cruz single.  Cruz then stole second base (his fourth of five stolen bases this series) and scored himself on a double by former Sox prospect David Murphy.  With two quick outs it looked like the damage might stop at two runs.  But, a bunt single by Andres Blanco quickly turned into two additional bases as Buchholz and Adrian Beltre each committed an error on the play.

One bright spot of the game:  the bullpen provided 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit.

Sox Stud of the Game: Clay Buchholz

Buchholz brought his best stuff on Thursday, showing excellent command (just one walk) while making a potent Rangers lineup look foolish through nearly seven innings.

Sox Dud of the Game: Victor Martinez

Martinez allowed two more stolen bases, both to Nelson Cruz.  That brings his total to 25 stolen bases allowed and just one caught. John Buck of the Marlins has allowed the second most stolen bases…with 14.

Game Notes:

W: Wilson (1-1)
L: Buchholz (1-2)
SV: Oliver (1)

• Buchholz’s start puts him on track to be mentioned as part of the Sox “big four” along with Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, if he keeps it up.
• Darnell McDonald did not have a big hit.
• If Francona had planned on using David Ortiz as a pinch hitter once lefty C.J. Wilson had left the game, fellow southpaw Darren Oliver spoiled those plans with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to close out the game.

About Mike Carlucci

Mike Carlucci writes about the Red Sox for Sports of Boston and can be found blogging about baseball and technology. He has a J.D and enjoys palindromes and espresso. You can follow him on Twitter @mikecarlucci or on Google+.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz, Texas Rangers, Victor Martinez