Buchholz Does Not Bring ‘A’ Game in Loss in Oakland

By KC Downey in Featured, Red Sox, Top Story ⋅ September 11, 2010 at 3:07am ⋅ Post a comment

Clay Buchholz (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

It was a strange, strange evening at the Oakland Collesium on Friday night. Coco Crisp and Jeremy Hermida started…in the A’s outfield. Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz and the bullpen both had very opposite outings (in terms of quality)…with Buch drawing the short end of that stick. Entering Friday, Buchholz had not allowed more than three earned runs in a start since July 24…against the A’s. To the action we go.

Buchholz had a forgettable outing, allowing three in the first inning on a Kurt Suzuki RBI double and Jeremy Hermida’s bases loaded double play that scored Suzuki. He faced four more batters in the second inning and was pulled after he couldn’t get anyone else out. The final damage? Five runs allowed on five hits and four walks in 1+ innings of work. Hey Clay, say goodbye to the 2010 Cy.

One pitcher who won’t be saying goodbye to his Cy Young Award candidacy is Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (not to be confused with Mass. gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill), who toed the rubber for the bad guys on Friday. Cahill had a strong outing, allowing no runs on just three hits over seven innings pitched. He earned his 16th win of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.61 as the A’s beat the Red Sox 5-0.

With Buchholz departing so soon in the game, that left Francona to run through his depleted, rookie-filled bullpen. So, the final score must have been 60-0, right?

Wrong! The bullpen tossed SEVEN shutout innings to quiet the A’s bats. Lefty Dustin Richardson worked out of Clay’s jam in the second inning and tossed two scoreless innings. Michael Bowden then tossed two innings of his own, allowing two hits. Robert Coello tossed two more scoreless frames, though he allowed a hit and two walks. Robert Manuel finished off the A’s in the eighth with a scoreless inning of his own, giving the bullpen a line of 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks.

Sox Stud of the Game: Terry Francona

For probably the first time ever, Tito earns the nod. He orchestrated the strong outing for the entire bullpen, running through four young pitchers in seven scoreless innings. Hey, the hitters don’t deserve this nod after only mustering three hits!

Sox Dud of the Game: Clay Buchholz

Buchholz was coming off an outing where he struggled through five innings against the White Sox, as he was forced to toss 95 pitches. Friday in Oakland, nothing was working for him, and he struggled to regain his form. Here’s hoping he’s able to end his season on a good note.

Game Notes:

W: Trevor Cahill (16-6)
L: Clay Buchholz (15-7)

The Red Sox defense turned three double plays, Ryan Kalish gunned down Coco Crisp at third base, and Victor Martinez picked off Jack Cust at third.
Now, the bad: Victor allowed four stolen bases, with three of them going to Coco.
Lars Anderson drew a walk in an 0-1 effort.
Coco finished 3-3 on the base paths, and 3-3 at the plate.