In outdueling Angels star righty Jered Weaver and helping Boston to a 9-5 win Monday night, Buchholz posted his first quality start of the season after five of the non-quality variety. This, a year after he had 19 quality starts in 28 total.
"It's coming along but still not all the way there," Buchholz said after allowing two runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. "Some work to do on the side. It's a stepping stone."
Buchholz continued to build on a rather ugly walk-to-strikeout ratio. He had two of both against the Angels and still has one more walk (18) than strikeout (17) on the season. But he saw positives in the 14 groundball outs he induced, a sure sign that his two-seam fastball and his pitch-to-contact attack was working.
"Obviously, he's slowly finding his rhythm," catcher Jason Varitek said. "I still think his best days are in front of him. Good job tonight to minimize damage. It's not like he's been bad. But I think [executing] the full five pitches, more so than anything, it's just a feel …The last few outings, he's getting it."
Buchholz is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in those last few outings. His effort Monday contributed to a rather impressive streak for Red Sox pitchers, who have now held opponents to five runs or less in 16 straight games, matching the team's longest such run since 1982.
