A war of attrition. Well not really, since only Sox players got hurt, but the Orioles committed a couple costly errors so it was ugly on their end as well.

First the Red Sox injuries:

Hanley left the game after being struck in the hand by a Bogaerts line drive while running the bases. Since the initial X-Rays came back negative I can say this: what the hell is he doing here? It’s a hit-and-run and he looks for the ball. It looks like he locates it. He’s staring right at it. It’s coming straight for him. But he doesn’t move, alter his path, or even flinch!

It looks like he’s playing a game of chicken with the ball and thinks “Pfft. He’ll swerve first.”

De Aza hurt his left hand TWICE. The first time Orioles’ starter Bud Norris stepped on his hand while covering first base because Alejandro slid headfirst into the bag. I know De Aza is a recent acquisition, so he hasn’t heard about all of the cool stuff that locals in Boston do, like read Lefty and Righty for all of their Red Sox game recaps. So he probably didn’t see this blog where I told our readers that I broke my hand sliding headfirst into first base, and warned them never to do the same. But either way he should know better. Unless you’re avoiding a tag, DON’T DO IT! Later in the game he’d be hit by a pitch on that same hand.

Pedroia left the game after rounding first base awkwardly after a single that drove in what would be the game winning runs. They’re saying it’s a mild right hamstring strain. That’s a lot better news than I was expecting since Pedey was grabbing at his knee when it happened.

And now for the actual game:

It was another good win for the hometown nine. Buchholz was very good for the second straight start, tossing seven innings of one-run ball. He got off to a shaky start, allowing two hits and a walk in the first inning, but settled into a nice groove after that.

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Buchholz (W, 5-6)	7.0	8	1	1	1	7	0	3.68

Clay has been throwing his changeup at his highest rate (17%) since the 2011 season, and with good results. Coming into last night opponents we’re hitting just .108 when Buchholz pulled the string, and last night it looked like he made a conscious effort to mix it in even more frequently.

On offense, the Red Sox once again took advantage of shoddy defense by the opposition. The Orioles came into this game having committed the fewest errors in the American League, but made consecutive errors (with a passed ball in between) in the 6th inning. It seems like they’ve committed half of their errors on the season against Boston.

This put runners on first and third with nobody out for Mookie, who singled in the game-tying run. One batter later (or is it two batters later? How does that work? Not the guy after Mookie, but the guy after him. I feel like you say “the next batter” if it’s the next guy so the next logical step is “one batter later”, but maybe that’s a synonym for “the next batter”?) Pedroia plated two with the aforementioned single. The next batter (nailed it) was Papi who hit a bleacher burner to put a bow on the scoring in this one. 5-1 Sox, and all 5 runs were unearned. At least we’re leading the league in something!

The Ortiz homer was a missile to straightaway center field that got out in two shakes of a sheep’s tail. He may not be as hot as some of the other Red Sox hitters, but in his last 13 games, he’s hitting .289 with 5 home runs, 12 RBIs and 9 walks.

Taz struck out the side in the 8th. After a string of bad outings, this was great to see. He was much better with his pitch location and had great action on his splitter. Koji had an uneventful 9th in a non-save situation, also great to see.

Notes:

–Brock Holt! played three positions in this game and continues to be the greatest utility player who’s ever lived.

–Masterson was up ever-so-briefly in the bullpen, but it wasn’t clear if they ever intended on bringing him in.

–Shane Victorino and Ryan Hanigan are both on rehab assignments and are apparently close to returning.

–Swihart will be back behind the dish tomorrow to catch Eduardo Rodriguez.

–Napoli came in when Ramirez went out and was 0-2 with two more strikeouts. Mike, I think it’s time for another film room session with Pedey.