For Clay Buchholz, Consistency Remains Key To Success
BOSTON (CBS) -- Confidence is one thing Clay Buchholz has not lacked this season.
The Red Sox starter has just seven wins on the season, but he's consistently been the best arm out of a very inconsistent Boston starting rotation this season. He tossed another gem on Saturday, holding the AL-leading Houston Astros to just one run in his first complete game of the year. He's now allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, shutting down some of the best offenses in the American League, and has picked up wins in each of his last four starts.
It doesn't get much more consistent than that, and that consistency has led to Buchholz's blooming confidence all season long.
"It's all about consistency. In my head, I feel like whenever I prepare the right way and I'm healthy, I can go out and give the team a chance to win," Buchholz told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche in an interview for Sunday night's Sports Final. "That confidence just builds with each outing you go out and execute your game plan, especially with the last couple of teams I've gone up against. They've been heavy on the offensive side, so you have to minimize your mistakes and not miss in the middle of the plate. That's been my mindset going in and I've been able to execute."
Executing his pitch selection and their location has been a big key in Buchholz's sustained success in 2015. He's felt confident in throwing his fastball on both sides of the plate, which has led to a better and more consistent changeup. With both of those pitches going, he's felt more confidence in his cutter. Because he's felt so good when the ball leaves his hand, confident the pitch will go where it's supposed to, he's been able to focus on who is at the plate, and not worry about leaving a pitch where they can hit it.
Buchholz went into Saturday's start knowing the Astros would be swinging the bat, similar to the Blue Jays his previous time out. He wasn't worried about getting hit hard either time he took the mound.
"I knew I'd have to have good command and not miss my spots," said Buchholz. "Whenever I can do that on both sides of the plate, it's about adjustments swing to swing and not worrying about where the pitch is going."
WATCH: Buchholz On Upcoming "Buchholz Bowl"
Health has also been a big difference for Buchholz this season. He was healthy heading into spring training, and that has good fortune has continued into the season. Without lingering injuries to worry about, Buchholz has focused on what needs to be done on the mound, and even in the few starts he was roughed up in, he still felt confident he'd bounce back because of his health.
"I felt good coming out, opening day was a good day and then I hit that speed bump," he said of his second start of the season, when the Yankees clubbed him for 10 runs over 3.1 innings. "Even after that start I didn't feel like my season was over or I was declining. It was more about execution and that's what I worked on between starts…. I've just tried to keep that frame of mind since then."
It's that frame of mind that has settled a very unstable Red Sox rotation.
"Guys that have the best stuff on the planet still struggle at times. You just have to pick each other up on a consistent basis," said Buchholz. "I feel like we've started to do that as the first half has gone on. We're trying to roll that over to the second half and get into that September run when we're in contention."
The Red Sox are on a bit of a roll themselves, winners of seven of their last 10. The team has won four of their last five series, and while they're still six games under .500, they sit just six games back in the AL East and five games out of a Wild Card spot.
They Red Sox will need more than just a consistent Buchholz to close that gap, but he's been a shot of confidence for a rotation that went into the season without a true ace, and maybe that confidence will become contagious as the team hits the All Star break.
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