There were two blemishes to the Red Sox' victory over the Miami Marlins Tuesday night. The first was the worrying removal of Dustin Pedroia from the game after being jammed late in the game. Only time will tell how costly that situation proves.
The second was the pitching of Clay Buchholz, who ran into trouble for the first time since May 21st, surrendering five runs in six innings.
What's curious about this particular start is that it was a different brand of Clay Buchholz than the Sox have seen before.
It's tempting to lump this Clay Buchholz in with the one who played so poorly in the first two months of the season. The contribution to his ERA was certainly similar, as was the surrendering of a two-run homer in the first. The difference, however, is that said Clay Buchholz was just an absolute wreck. Unable to spot his fastball with any regularity and throwing off-speed pitches into the dirt, it was almost a shock when he managed to get an out.
Tuesday's Clay Buchholz was not quite so bad at all. Yes, Logan Morrison went insane, but against the rest of the opponents he faced, Buchholz was passing impressive. Three of the runs Morrison drove in were on base via broken bats or ground balls. His fastball had zip and was thrown for strikes most of the time, while his off-speed stuff was deceptive enough to get him some swings-and-misses. He didn't pitch like a monster, but he was better, perhaps, than the line shows at the end of the night.
For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over the Monster.