want to set any goals for himself at the start of the season. Even if he
had, the Red Sox right-hander never could have imagined pitching quite
this well.
Bill Hall hit two home runs, Adrian
Beltre and J.D. Drew also connected and Boston used eight strong innings
from Buchholz to beat Toronto once again, routing the Blue Jays 10-1
Wednesday night.
"His stuff was tremendous," manager
Terry Francona said of Buchholz, who has lost just twice in his past 14
starts. "We probably saw some of the best velocity we've seen, and he
held it. He was very good."
Hall, who drove in four runs, and Mike Lowell each had three hits as the Red Sox improved to 9-2 against Toronto this season.
The Red Sox have hit 153 home runs this season, second in the majors to Toronto's 178.
Buchholz (13-5) won his third straight
decision, allowing one unearned run and five hits in eight innings and
lowering his ERA to 2.49.
"He's obviously one of the best
pitchers in this league," Hall said. "He's got tremendous stuff. He can
get you out with four different pitches. That's going to make for a
tough day, especially if he's got control of all of them. You don't
really have anything you can sit on and wait for."
Buchholz, who leads the Red Sox in
wins, said he didn't want to fall short of expectations, so he decided
against setting any personal goals.
"I've definitely exceeded anything I thought I'd be able to do in this game so far this year," Buchholz said.
Buchholz is 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA in
six career starts at Toronto, including 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in two
starts at Rogers Centre this season.
"He has the ability to throw anything
at anytime," Francona said. "When he falls behind in the count he can
get back into the count. He gets good hitters by putting a little cut to
the fastball, throwing a changeup. His threw some breaking balls
tonight that were tremendous. He's got a lot of weapons."
Blue Jays designated hitter Adam Lind had three of the five hits off Buchholz, all singles.
"He was on the money tonight," Lind said. "Cutter, changeup, curveball, he had his good stuff."
Hall led off the second with a home
run, then added a two-run shot, his 15th of the season, in the fourth.
It was the fourth multihomer game of his career.
"If you miss your location, he hits it a long way," Francona said of Hall.
Hall said he's having fun playing baseball again after struggling the past two seasons.
"I lost a lot of confidence, a lot of
things were going on," Hall said. "Obviously I knew what kind of player
I felt like I was but when it's not showing up on the field you start
to doubt yourself. It's put me in a really happy place in my life. I'm
really happy about it."
Drew hit a solo homer in Boston's five-run fifth, his 14th. Beltre capped the inning with a three-run drive, his 21st.
Blue Jays right-hander Shaun Marcum
(10-6) allowed a season-high eight runs and seven hits in four-plus
innings, including a career-high four home runs.
"My mechanics felt off a little bit
but that's no excuse," Marcum said. "I've still got to make pitches and
try to find a way to grind out some innings."
Marcum came in having allowed just 18
earned runs over 55 2/3 innings in 13 prior appearances against the Red
Sox, but was shaky from the start. He walked three and hit a batter in a
36-pitch first inning. Lowell drew a bases-loaded walk as the Red Sox
took the early lead.
Jose Bautista had a sacrifice fly in the bottom half, but that was all the Blue Jays would get against Buchholz.
Hall put Boston ahead with his homer in the second, and widened the gap with his two-run shot in the fourth.
The Red Sox broke it open in the
fifth. Drew led off with a homer and Victor Martinez and David Ortiz
both singled before Beltre chased Marcum with his drive.
Brian Tallet came on and gave up a double to Lowell, who scored on Hall's single.
Martinez singled home a run in the eighth, giving him 600 career RBIs.
Notes
Bautista threw out Martinez
after his eighth-inning single. It was Bautista's major league-best 10th
outfield assist. … The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 in
Toronto. … Boston recalled C Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Pawtucket and
placed C Kevin Cash (left hamstring) on the 15-day DL. Saltalamacchia
came on as a defensive replacement in the eighth. … OF Vernon Wells
(right foot) and SS Yunel Escobar returned to Toronto's lineup after
sitting out Tuesday. … Marcum allowed a career-high nine runs on Aug.
19, 2006, at Baltimore.