Coming into the game with an 0-3 record an earned run average of six and a half, it is no exaggeration to say that Red Sox veteran Clay Buchholz was pitching for his job in his start against the Chicago White Sox last night.
One more disastrous outing, with lefty Eddie Rodriguez and Joe Kelly both getting ready to return from injury and knuckleballer Steven Wright pitching so well as a spot starter, there's little doubt that Buchholz would be demoted to the pen or perhaps even sent to Pawtucket with another ineffective start. So when Buchholz gave up a bomb of a two-run homer to Jose Abreu in the first inning, Red Sox fans can be forgiven for thinking they'd seen the last of the soft-spoken Texas native as a Red Sox starter, some ten years into his tenure with the team.
But Buchholz, so often criticized for a perceived lack of mental toughness or so-called "bulldog mentality" on the mound, bit right back at his critics, settling down after the Abreu home run and shutting down the White Sox for the next seven innings in a 5-2 Red Sox win. Buchholz kept pounding the strike zone instead of nibbling away trying to catch the corners, which has gotten him into trouble with walks this season, and he gave up just two more hits and no runs the rest of the way for his first win of the season and for now at least, a guaranteed spot in the rotation. The big hit on offense came from who else? Big Papi, who has got to be wondering if he should pull a Brett Favre and reconsider his retirement at the end of this year. His two-run blast to deep right field in the 5th inning put Boston ahead for good. It's home run number 509 for his career, moving him ahead of Gary Sheffield for twenty-fifth place on the all-time home run list. There's a reason Ortiz' teammates prefer the nickname Cooperstown to Big Papi.
That huge collective sigh of relief you heard from Camden Yards last night was emitted by the NY Yankees, who snapped a six-game losing skid with authority, blanking the Baltimore Orioles 7-0 behind seven shutout inning from CC Sabathia and three runs driven in by catcher Brian McCann. The Yankees defense also helped out, turning three double plays behind Sabathia. who improves to 2-2 on the year with the win. The six-game skid had been the longest for the Bronx Bombers since 2007.
The NY Mets rebounded from a loss to the lowly Atlanta Braves by routing Atlanta 8-0 at Citi Field. Steven Matz was in complete control for the Mets, giving up just two hits over seven and two thirds innings. Lucas Duda hit two of four home runs on the night for the Mets.
To the NHL playoffs and the Washington Capitals finished with the president's trophy for most points in the regular season this year, which of course means squat, comma, diddley come playoff time, and now the high-flying Caps look they're about to be grounded again after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Patrick Hornqvist put home the game-winner for the Pens for a three games to one series lead. The Pens won despite being without two of their top defenseman in Kris Letang, suspended for one game for an illegal hit in Game 3, and Eric Fehr, out with injury. The Caps are becoming notorious for playoff futility, blowing series year after year, even with goal scoring machine Alex Ovechkin anchoring their offense, but they have yet to win a Stanley Cup, and even Ovie won't stay young forever. The Caps will try to stay alive in Game five at home on Saturday.
In the NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers put on quite the show for the hometown fans last night, setting an NBA record by hitting twenty-five three-pointers in a 123-98 pounding of the Atlanta Hawks. J.R. Smith had seven of those record twenty-five treys, and by the way, the Cavs have yet to a lose a game in the post-season this year. They swept Detroit in round one and are now up two games to none on Atlanta.
In mens' college lacrosse, the Norwich Cadets are moving on in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference playoffs after beating Rivier 19-11 in Northfield yesterday. The third-seeded Cadets got four goals from senior Ryan McCarthy in the win. Norwich will next face second-seeded Lasell College on Friday in the semi-finals.
