Just when you thought there was at least one reason to watch the Red Sox for the remainder of the 2010 season, Clay Buchholz reminded Sox fans that the final Sunday can’t come soon enough.
Buchholz hardly had enough time to realize how bad his start was Friday night against the Oakland Athletics, only lasting into the second inning. After allowing five earned runs on four walks and five hits, Francona had seen enough and handed the ball over to Dustin Richardson.
Dustin Richardson, Michael Bowden, Robert Coello, and Robert Manuel managed to stop the bleeding and shut out the Athletics through the next seven innings. However the Red Sox offense was too busy being rocked by Trevor Cahill (now 16-6 on the season) to be bothered with supplying any runs.
Whomever was on duty to hide all calendars from Buchholz this month fell asleep at the switch. Clay had forced himself into the discussion for the Cy Young Award by pitching out of his skull in August (4-0, 1.03 ERA, .195 BAA). Buchholz had even pitched well in his first start of September. Despite only lasting five innings against the Chicago White Sox, Clay only allowed two earned runs.
(Originally posted on 5 Yard Face Mask)
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com