Buchholz nets 1st ML win as Bosox hammer Lackey

Sox 8, Angels 4
WP: Buchholz (1-0)
LP: Lackey (15-7)
SV: Papelbon (29)
HRs: BOS-Ortiz (20), Pedroia (6)

SUMMARY
On a beautiful day at Fenway the Sox hitters helped rookie phenom Clay Buchholz earn his first major league victory, and the fact that they did so by battering Angels Cy Young candidate John Lackey just made the victory all the more sweeter.

#1 STUNNER Buchholz 6IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 5K
He wasn't spectacular, he wasn't overpowering, but the 23-year-old veteran of 22 minor league games was good enough, flashed a nice repertoire of pitches, and defeated one of the top teams in baseball to earn a win in his major league debut.

Well done, kid.

PAN's FAUN Lackey 4IP, 11H, 7R, 6ER, 0BB, 3K
Good thing Scioscia held him out of the nightcap showdown with Beckett to unleash him on the kid. All the Angels ace did was allow the most hits and runs he has all season, including a Sox cycle in the first when 10 men came to the plate and six scored.

Well played, Scioscia.

RECAP
Was that sweet or what?

Not only did the Sox dismantle one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, but in the process they got emergency callup rookie Clay Buchholz milestone victory #1 in the process.

On an eventful day for the club both on & off the field the Boston batters picked the perfect time to bust of their "we can't get a big hit when we need it" funk when they plated six runs in the first frame off ML co-wins leader John Lackey.

Did I mention manager Mike Scioscia moved him from the nightcap to start this afternoon so he didn't have to "sit around all day"?

I can't get enough of that one.

Turns out it was a good thing Boston piled up all those runs early, cause those pesky Halos kept hanging around and scratching at the lead until next thing you know they had the tying run at the plate with two on and one out in the 8th inning, forcing tito to bring in Papelbon for a rare four-out save.

But let me back up and explain how we got to that point first.

Buchholz was obviously nervous at the outset, evidenced by the leadoff 4-pitch walk he issued to the AL's 4th leading hitter, Chone Figgins, to start the game.

Trouble struck one out later as Bad Vlad Guerrero lined a solid shot to right that J.D. Drew caught up to but dropped for a two-base error, and the Angels had runners at second & third before everyone had stumbled in from the Cask.

But Buchholz buckled down and minimized the damage by getting Garret Anderson to ground out to first, bringing Figgins home, and then striking out Gary Matthroids on a filthy slider to end the inning with LA leading 1-0.

That deficit would turn into a surplus in a hurry in the bottom of the inning, though.

Dustin Pedroia got the party started with a double down the right field line on Lackey's second pitch of the game. After getting Youk to strike out on a foul tip, Lackey had the heart of the order coming up with no relief in sight.

Up stepped David Otiz, who had hit just one homer in his last 13 games but has enjoyed success against Lackey (8-23, .348, 3 2B, HR, 7BI) in his career. After falling behind 0-2, Papi worked the count to 2-2, then unloaded on a Lackey fastball and deposited it over the right field wall for a well-timed 2-run homer, his first at Fenway since July 31st.

And the fun had just begun.

Three pitches later Manny dropped a flyball between Anderson and Matthroids on the warning track near the Wall for a single (?), and on the next pitch Drew atoned for his gaffe by lacing a three bagger into the left centerfield gap to give Boston a 3-1 lead and help remove some of the butterflies from Buchholz' gut.

The hit parade continued as Lowell (bloop 1B to center), Mirabelli (2B high off the Monster) and Alex Cora (2B to left) all notched RBI hits to run the score to 6-1, and the only negative of the whole scene was when 'Belli came up lame rounding third and had to be replaced by Jason Varitek.

Staked to a 5-run lead Buchholz could relax a bit more but he couldn't let up, especially since the Angels seemed to have runners on base in every inning as they attempted to cut into the lead.

Luckily he benefited from three double plays to help extricate him from potential disastrous situations.

The Sox missed out on a golden opportunity to add to the lead in the second when they loaded the bases with one out on a shift-shading single by Papi, a HBP by Manny (which barely nicked his shirt) and a single by Drew, but Lackey got Lowell to pop out and Coco to ground out to hold the margin to five runs.

They did tack on a run in the 4th thanks to more uncharacteristic miscues by the Angels. Youk led off with a single to center and after Lackey got Ortiz and Ramirez out, Drew (3-5, R, RBI) dropped a single into right for his third hit of the game.

For some reason Guerrero decided to try and nail Youk going to third; not only did the ball nearly smack Kevin in the goatee, it skipped into the stands for a two-base error, and suddenly the Sox lead was a hearty 7-1.

The Halos finally got to Buchholz for a pair of runs in the 5th when they put four consecutive singles together, but once again he sidestepped major damage when Matthroids lined a tracer to Youk who then stepped on first base for a lightning quick inning ending double play, and Boston's lead was 7-3 after five.

By the time Casey Kotchman doubled to lead off the 6th, the rookie was clearly at the end of the line, and when Jeff mathis got him home with a sac fly one out later and he retired Reggie Willits to end the inning, the day was done for the kid with the electric stuff.

After pitching a 1-2-3 seventh, suddenly struggling Hideki Okajima allowed a pair of base runners in the 8th and had to be relieved by Papelbon with two outs in the frame and the tying run at the plate.

Paps proceeded to get Sox killer Maicer Izturis to fly out harmlessly to Coco in center, and when Pedroia added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on a homer over the Monster to push the lead to 8-4, it was all over but the save.

Papelbon struck out the first two batters in the 9th before allowing a double to old friend Orlando Cabrera, then got Guerrero to fly out to center to end the game, and the whole team feted the kid who came, saw, and conquered one of the most potent teams in baseball.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for potential spoiler John Lackey.

In hindsight maybe they should have saved him for the nightcap.