Buchholz turned in yet another spectacular performance in the win, allowing just the one run over seven innings of work and striking out a season-high nine batters.
Miami outproduced the Boston batters at the dish with seven hits to the Sox five, but in the end it was a pair of seventh inning drives, from Shoppach and Aviles, that solidified the win for the Red Sox.
Boston now sits at 30-32 on the season with the series finale set for Wednesday evening. Felix Doubront will be on the hill with a chance to get the Sox back to .500 heading into a weekend series with the Cubs in Chicago.
Mid 9th Inning, Red Sox 2-1: The Red Sox were able to start up a bit of a threat in the ninth inning, as Aviles reached on an error and McDonald was able to extend things with a single to center field.
Ozzie Guillen made a pitching change as David Ortiz came to the plate, and Randy Choate ended up getting the better of Papi in the battle.
Choate's strikeout ended the threat and kept it a 2-1 game heading into the home half of the ninth.
the Marlins have Morrisson, Sanchez and Coghlan set to come up in the inning, of who are a combined 1-for-9 on the night. But that one also accounted for the lone run that Miami has scored as well. Should be interesting…
End 8th Inning,Red Sox 2-1: Vicente Padilla took the mound in Buchholz absence, hoping to hold onto the starter's seventh win of the season on Tuesday night. And he got the job done, though it wasn't without some trouble.
Padilla struck out pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, who expressed his displeasure with home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn's strike zone, to start the inning.
A pair of back-to-back singles from Infante and Ramirez had the Marlins threatening with their best hitter — Stanton — at the dish. But Stanton struck out for the fourth time on the night and Padilla was able to escape the threat with the lead.
Bobby Valentine also made some defensive changes in the inning, moving Adrian Gonzalez back to first base for Kevin Youkilis and sending Ryan Sweeney out to right field.
Mid 8th Inning, Red Sox 2-1: Steve Cishek followed the general blueprint that Mark Buehrle had laid, sitting down the Red Sox in quick fashion.
Cishek did hit first baseman Kevin Youkilis in the inning, but aside from the plunking was able to escape unscathed and keep the sox at just a 2-1 lead.
With Buchholz likely done for the night, it will be interesting the see if the Marlins have better luck against the Boston bullpen and can make a run of it in the late innings.
End 7th Inning, Red Sox 2-1: What started off as a worrisome inning for the Red Sox in the seventh, nearly got a whole lot worse before they could head back to the bench.
After finally getting the lead in the seventh inning, Clay Buchholz allowed a home run to Marlins infielder Logan Morrisson to kickoff the bottom of the inning.
Morrisson sent a deep shot out into the right field stands and cut the lead in half at 2-1.
But a Chris Coghlan dribbler down the first baseline looked to almost knock Buchholz out of the game, as the Sox starter sat grimacing on the ground for a split second. Buchholz did return to the hill and force John Buck into a flyout to hold onto the lead into the eighth inning.
The home run marked the first time Buchholz had allowed a run in 15 innings.
Mid 7th Inning, Red Sox 2-0: The Red Sox finally broke through and solved the puzzle that was Mark Buehrle.
Will Middlebrooks led off the seventh inning with a single, and it was Kelly Shoppach's second double of the game that ended up scoring the first run of the night for either side.
Mike Aviles followed that up with a single to center field, scoring Shoppach from second base and giving the Red Sox a 2-0, after looking befuddled by Buehrle for much of the night.
Buchholz tried to help his own cause out with a blooping liner to center field, which would have scored a pair. But a sensational diving play by Marling outfielder Chris Coghlan kept anymore runs from crossing the plate.
Middlebrooks single broke a streak of 15 consecutive Red Sox without a hit, as Buehrle has been doing work against Boston batters for most of the night.
End 6th Inning, 0-0: Buchholz gets Stanton, yet again.
For the third time on Tuesday night, Buchholz was able to confuse the young superstar with his off-speed stuff and sat Stanton down on strikes.
Omar Infante was able to work a leadoff walk, but it was some nice defense from shortstop Mike Aviles that turned a hard-hit grounder by Hanley Ramirez into a quick double play.
Buchholz is up to 90 pitches on the night. And even after throwing 125 in a complete game in Baltimore less than a week ago, you can expect him to stick out there as long as Valentine will let him.
Mid 6th Inning, 0-0: Mark Buehrle can't be stopped. Seriously!
Even sloppy defense by his Marlins teammates can't slow his roll on Tuesday night.
Darnell McDonald found his way on base to leadoff the inning, but the BoSox were unable to do anything with the runner. Even with the runner, Buehrle still only threw 10 pitchers in the sixth — just 74 on the night — and is looking more and more like he's headed for a complete game in this one.
End 5th Inning, 0-0: Clay Buchholz got a little payback on Mark Buehrle in the bottom of the fifth with a strikeout of his own.
Buehrle looked befuddled on the third pitch of the at-bat, as Buchholz dropped a nasty curveball underneath his bunting bat for strike No. 2.
The strikeout gives Buchholz seven on the night, matching a season high for the right-hander.
Mid 5th Inning, 0-0: The game is moving along quite well, as both Buehrle and Buchholz continue to make quick work of the opposing offense.
Buehrle once again worked the Red Sox lineup with relative ease. Adrian Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk but after a fly out by Shoppach, Aviles grounded into a simple double-play at second base.
It's as if the Sox bats just didn't make it in the luggage with them on this trip and instead they've been going to the plate with Styrofoam instead.
Buchholz quality outing could go for naught if the Sox aren't able to figure things out at the plate sometime soon.
End 4th Inning, 0-0: The reign on top just continues for Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz made Giancarlo Stanton, who is hitting .291 and ranks fourth in the national league with 14 home runs, look foolish once again with a nasty breaking pitch. He sat Stanton down on strikes for the second time in as many chances on Tuesday.
Buch also sat Logan Morrisson down on strikes, giving Buchholz six over four innings of work in the game. And it looks like he is only gaining confidence as this one wears on.
Buchholz' breaking ball has been by far his most useful pitch on the night, confusing hitters and getting many of them to stop in their tracks as it breaks halfway back across the plate.
Mid 4th Inning, 0-0: This game is flying by. And it's primarily due to Mark Buehrle making quick work of the Red Sox.
Buehrle has thrown just 53 pitches over four innings of work, and his hastened approach off the mound — taking but a few seconds in between pitches — is a welcome surprise to Red Sox fans.
The Boston bats are struggling mightily with Buehrle, however, getting a single base runner in four innings on the evening.
Good thing Buchholz has been so good, otherwise Boston could be in deep trouble once again.
End 3rd Inning, 0-0: The Red Sox just can't seem to find an answer for Jose Reyes in the batter's box. But at the plate? Well, Kelly Shoppach appears to have found his own solution for the speedy shortstop.
The 2011 NL batting champ slapped a two-out single to left field in the third, starting a rally for the Marlins. But the speedster wasn't quick enough to score from second on an infield single, as Kevin Youkilis wisely threw Reyes out at the plate following a Hanley Ramirez single.
Reyes is now 3-for-6 in the series against the Sox, and 2-for-2 against Buchholz on Tuesday.
Buchholz has been dominant for the better course of three innings, but he did look a bit flustered by the speed of the Marlins in the third.
Mid 3rd Inning, 0-0: Mark Buehrle just can't be stopped.
Aside from a two-out double in the top of the second inning, Buehrle has been un-hittable on Tuesday.
Buehrle recorded another 1-2-3 inning, making quick work of Darnell McDonald, Buchholz and Podsednik.
Buehrle even sat down the opposing pitcher, giving Buchholz a taste of his own medicine with a quick K on the Red Sox starter.
Buchholz may be dominating on the mound, but he remains hitless at the dish this season.
End 2nd Inning, 0-0: Clay Buchholz just continues to impress with his new, fast paced approach on the mound.
Buchholz worked another quick inning, sitting down each of the Marlins hitters in order and even recording his fourth strikeout of the night in the process.
Neither Logan Morrisson, Gaby Sanchez or Chris Coghlan really stood a chance up against Buchholz fastball command or breaking ball control. It's been rather unfair to this point and if it continues, you can expect another victory for Clay at game's end.
Mid 2nd Inning, 0-0: Mark Buehrle just continues to flex his pitching muscles on Tuesday night.
Kelly Shoppach was able to slap a two-out double down the right field line, but Buehrle came right back to induce Mike Aviles into a grounder for the third out.
After making quick work of the first two batters — Will Middlebrooks and Adrian Gonzalez — Kelly Shoppach made Buehrle work for the final out of the second with a seven-pitch at-bat and it looks like that may be the key for the Red Sox to actually get the better of the former Cy Young on the night.
Shoppach stepped out of the box after nearly every pitch, and was willing to take decent fastballs, as the key to slowing down Buehrle over the years has proven to be actually slowing the pace of the game.
End 1st Inning, 0-0: Jose Reyes led off the game with a triple for the second straight night against the Red Sox. But Clay Buchholz did him one better.
Buchholz struck out the next three Marlins to the plate: Omar Infante, Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton, to get out of the early-inning jam.
Reyes now has five triples on the year, with two of the five coming against Boston.
Buchholz, meanwhile, continues his dominance on the mound with the three strikeouts and appears locked in with a head-shaking changeup and knee-buckling curveball. Clay's on point, tonight.
Mid 1st Inning, 0-0: Mark Buehrle took quick care of the Red Sox in the top of the first, sitting then down in order 1-2-3.
Dustin Pedroia went down on strikes, which is concerning given his struggles since returning from a hand injury. Pedey's batting average has dropped .17 points over the Sox past 10 games.
Giancarlo Stanton also showed off some leather in the first. He made a nice diving catch in right field on a fast-falling liner from Scott Podsednik to start the inning. The play just continued to show that Stanton is much more than just a big bat in the Marlins lineup.
7:05 p.m.: The Red Sox will be stepping to the plate first, as a very focused Mark Buerhle looks to continue his Interleague success on the mound with the Marlins.
Buehrle is 24-6 with a 3.32 ERA in his career during interleague play, which certainly doesn't bode well for a struggling Red Sox lineup.
6:40 p.m.: Will Middlebrooks re-insertion into the Boston lineup on Tuesday night is definitely a welcome relief for Red Sox fans. But where he's slated to hit in the order is what is more the story than anything.
Manager Bobby Valentine, who has been tinkering with the batting order all season, has Middlebrooks hitting in the four slot for the Red Sox in their second of a three-game set in Miami.
Middlebrooks as the clean-up hitter is certainly an interesting concept, given that he's still just but a rookie in the big leagues, but it could also be an omen for the future of the Sox lineup.
It will be interesting to see how Middlebrooks is able to handle the pressure in the four hole, as well as how the 23-year-old manages the stellar stuff of former Cy Young award winner Mark Buehrle.
6:25 p.m.: It was a short stay for Marlon Byrd in Boston, but one that produced some much-needed success for both sides.
Byrd came over in a trade from the Chicago Cubs on April 21, and was finally released by the Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon.
Byrd, who hit .270 with one home run and seven RBIs in 34 games with Boston, was designated for assignment late last week to make room for the activation of Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Read more about Byrd's release.
5 p.m.: David Ortiz has been given the night off, after playing in each of the Red Sox 61 games this season.
Kevin Youkilis will replace Ortiz at first base, while Will Middlebrooks mans the hot corner on the other side of the infield. Adrian Gonzalez continues his journeys in the outfield, taking up the right field spot for Boston on Tuesday night.
As for the Marlins,Jose Reyes will lead things off once again with utility infielder Omar Infante, who leads the Marlins with a .296 average, sharing the middle infield with Reyes and hitting second on the night.
Check out the full lineups for both Boston and Miami, below.
Red Sox (29-32)
Scott Podsednik, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, RF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Mike Aviles, SS
Darenell McDonald, LF
Clay Buchholz, RHP
Marlins (32-29)
Jose Reyes, SS
Omar Infante, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, 3B
Giancarlo Stanton, LF
Logan Morrison, RF
Gaby Sanchez, 1B
Chris Coghlan, CF
John Buck, C
Mark Buehrle, LHP
8 a.m.: Clay Buchholz (6-2, 5.77 ERA) has appeared to return to his former All-Star form in recent weeks.
Buchholz takes the mound once again on Tuesday night, this time in Miami against a Marlins team that took a 4-1 victory over Boston on Monday night.
The Red Sox offense struggled to put together any sort of rally against Josh Johnson on Monday. But with Mark Buehrle (5-6, 3.49 ERA) taking the hill Tuesday night, the Boston bats should feel more comfortable having faced Buehrle on a number of occasions in his time with the White Sox.
First pitch is at 7:05 p.m., so be sure to tune into NESN for all your Red Sox coverage, starting with the pregame at 6 p.m.
