The Boston Red Sox took a 3-2 win Friday night over the Cleveland Indians behind a complete game effort from Clay Buchholz.
The first inning would belie the greatness that was to come from Buchholz. After striking out Ezequiel Carrera on three pitches, Buchholz left a 2-0 fastball up to Asdrubal Cabrera, and just like that it was 1-0, Indians. Buchholz would get out of the inning without any more damage, but it was a bad sign for a team that's dealt with far too many early deficits.
The Boston offense would be successfully held down by Journeyman Chris Seddon for much of his outing, but what little he allowed cost him. The second baserunner Seddon allowed came on a walk in the fourth to Mike Aviles, and with an errant pickoff throw he reached third in a hurry. A Dustin Pedroia single brought him home, and just like that the game was tied.
After a scoreless fifth, the Sox came for Seddon again in the sixth. This time Dustin Pedroia was playing the setup man instead of the finisher, getting on base with a single for Cody Ross, who took a bad slider from Seddon and sent it deep to center, over the tallest part of the wall and into the foliage for a two-run shot that made it 3-1, Sox.
Clay Buchholz would be let down by his defense in the bottom half of the sixth, as errors from each of his middle infielders put a runner on third with no outs. Buchholz could not keep him from coming in, but he held the Indians to just the one run, and then let nothing else get by him. The Indians went down in order in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, giving Boston's de facto ace a complete game two-hitter with just one earned run to his name.
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