Clay Buchholz Drawing Concern After Latest Rough Start

by abournenesn

May 6, 2012

Clay Buchholz Drawing Concern After Latest Rough StartBOSTON — There is reason to be concerned with Clay Buchholz.

Lost in the shuffle of Sunday's 9-6 loss in 17 innings was the looming story that Buchholz wasn't hitting his spots.

Buchholz yielded two early blasts to J.J. Hardy, and then the issues came to a head in the fourth inning, when Buchholz allowed Robert Andino — yes, that Andino — to crush a three-run homer.

In the blink of an eye, Buchholz's day was done. He gave up seven hits, five runs and four walks to the Orioles. With another subpar start, Buchholz has now surrendered at least five runs in each of his six starts this season.

"I've got to watch video and see what I'm doing wrong, if there's anything I'm doing wrong that I can fix," Buchholz said. "I've been upset at myself for the last six weeks."

To put Buchholz's rough stretch in perspective, the righty allowed just nine long balls in 173 2/3 innings in 2010. Through 32 2/3 frames in 2012, Buchholz has already exceeded that total while elevating his ERA to 9.09.

Entering Sunday's outing, he had a major-league worst 1.90 WHIP, a sum that skyrocketed once again. And in reality, his 3-1 record this season is partly credited to the offense's ability to bail him out.

"He's too good to have those numbers and be struggling like he is," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "It's kind of frustrating to find an answer. I don't think he needs to do too much."

Earlier this week, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Buchholz was dealing with a blister on his throwing hand — a chronic issue in recent years. But pitching coach Bob McClure downplayed the impact of the sore.

So did Buchholz after the game, saying the blister was no longer an issue.

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