The New York Yankees destroyed Clay Buchholz, hitting three homers off him in the second inning and chasing him before he could see the third with eight runs to his name in what would eventually be a 10-2 Boston defeat.
So much for playing spoiler. With Baltimore also losing against the Rays, and Daisuke Matsuzaka taking the mound Wednesday for the Sox, it's hard to imagine the Yankees will end up with anything less than a share of the division crown. That means that the worst-case scenario for them is a one-game playoff to see who has to play in another one-game playoff. Two chances to get one win.
As for what happened during the game, well, that's pretty much covered above. Clay Buchholz looked solid in the first, and then morbid in the second. Robinson Cano hit a first pitch homer, and Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin were not far behind, making it 4-0 in a hurry. An assortment of other baserunners would costs Buchholz four more, the last scoring when Alfredo Aceves allowed a two-run shot to Mark Teixeira, the first batter he faced.
As for the Boston offense, they haven't scored 10 even once since the trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez et al. to Los Angeles. They weren't about to start tonight against CC Sabathia.
So ends Clay Buchholz' season, much as it began.
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