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BOSTON (AP) -The last time he faced the
Baltimore Orioles
at Fenway Park,
Clay Buchholz
overcame the nerves of his second major-league start and the mounting pressure of making baseball history to pitch a no-hitter.
Looks like he didn't get all the jitters out of his system.
Brian Roberts
greeted Buchholz with a game-opening double and was a home run short of the cycle Friday night as Baltimore knocked the
Red Sox
right-hander around in the first inning and beat Boston 7-3.
Brian Burres
(7-5) pitched his longest outing in eight tries, allowing three runs and six hits before leaving with a 4-3 lead with one
out in the seventh to outpitch the 23-year-old Texan who no-hit Baltimore on Sept. 1.
''That's a long time ago. That's over and done with,'' Roberts said. ''You certainly want to get off to a good start, whether
it's
Roger Clemens
or Buchholz or whoever. But Burres was the star of the game. He pitched really well and gave us what we needed. To pitch 6
1-3 here, that's pretty good.''
Red Sox
shortstop
Julio Lugo
pulled up lame and left the game after singling with two outs in the ninth.
Brandon Fahey
let
Jacoby Ellsbury
's grounder go through his legs at shortstop, then
George Sherrill
came on and walked
Dustin Pedroia
to load the bases before striking out
Kevin Youkilis
to earn his 28th save.
Manager
Terry Francona
said Lugo injured his left quadriceps and will be evaluated Saturday.
''He did it pretty good,'' Francona said. ''I think there's a pretty good chance he didn't just strain it.''
Buchholz retired just one of the first five batters he faced before settling down, striking out five out of six batters in
the third and fourth innings. He gave up four runs, five hits and five walks in five innings.
''I haven't been that nervous in a long time,'' Buchholz (2-4) said. ''Maybe (I was) trying a little bit too hard ... being
out there for the first time in a while, trying to prove a point, trying to let everybody know this is where I want to be
and this is where I want to be for a long time.''
It was a little surprising to hear that from a guy who managed to keep his composure while pitching a no-hitter last fall.
He followed that five days later with three innings of one-hit relief, also against the Orioles; none of the current Baltimore
batters had ever gotten a hit off of him.
But he struggled this season before splitting a fingernail on his pitching hand and then spending time in the minors to work
on his mechanics.
''I think it was just so new to me last year, I didn't know what to expect,'' he said. ''Now I know what this team does: This
team is here to win and produce championships. And to be a part of that, sometimes nerves might get the better of you.''
Roberts, who finished fourth in the fan balloting for final spot on the AL roster for the All-Star game, and No. 9 hitter
Brandon Fahey
had five of the Orioles' seven hits.
''He's not going to New York as an All-Star, but he's an All-Star player for us and he's an All-Star player for me,'' said
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, whose team snapped a five-game losing streak and handed the
Red Sox
a rare home loss. ''What he does for the club, and what he does to make the team go, speaks for itself. The way he played
tonight was pretty darn good, pretty darn good.''
The
Red Sox
returned to Fenway Park from a 3-7 road trip to sweep Minnesota and - even with Friday's loss - their 34-11 home record is
the best in the AL.
Roberts led off the game with a double, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly. In the fifth, Fahey singled and Roberts
tripled him home before scoring on
Aubrey Huff
's sacrifice fly to make it 4-3.
But the home-crowd advantage didn't help the
Red Sox
when a fan reached over the short wall in right and interfered with
Sean Casey
's second-inning double. And it didn't hold any sway with first base umpire Doug Eddings three batters later, with Casey on
third, when Lugo was called out on a grounder to first even though replays showed he was safe by a step.
''I saw what you saw,'' Francona said.
Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning, and the
Red Sox
were out a run.
They made it 3-2 in the fourth when
Jason Varitek
singled, took third on
Brandon Moss
' double and scored on Lugo's groundout.
Moss and
Manny Ramirez
both had two hits.
Notes:
Red Sox
RF J.D. Drew was out of the lineup for a second consecutive game with a ''tweaked'' back. Francona said he thinks Drew will
be back Saturday. CF
Coco Crisp
sat out with a forearm injury of unknown nature and cause. ... Boston DH
David Ortiz
, who has been on the DL since injuring a tendon sheath in his left wrist on May 30, took some practice swings in the batting
cage before the game. ... Orioles RF
Nick Markakis
walked three times but went 0-for-2 to snap a 17-game hitting streak. ... Pedroia walked twice and ended a 17-game hitting
streak. ... Buchholz, who pitched three innings of one-hit relief on Sept. 6 in his other career appearance vs. Baltimore,
was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game.
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