Buchholz Pleased With Return To Mound
BOSTON (CBS) – For the first time in nine months, Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz took the mound Monday night.
"It was a long time coming," Buchholz said of his two scoreless innings in Boston's 10-2 win over the Minnesota Twins Monday night. "There's a lot of work that went into it, a lot of time off, a lot of struggle. It was definitely worth all the work to be out there and not feel any stress."
Buchholz missed the final three-and-a-half months of the 2011 season with what was diagnosed as a stress fracture in his lower back; an injury he said forced him to change his entire motion last season. But Monday night, Buchholz said he was close to being back to his old self.
"It was just compensation last year; trying to not feel anything and throw. I was altering everything; my step to home plate, my leg kick. All that's going to do is lead to something else starting to hurt. I definitely felt 180-degrees different."
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It was not an easy outing for Buchholz, who threw 20 of his 36 pitches for strikes. He walked leadoff hitter Denard Span, and went 3-0 on Tsuyoshi Nishioka before getting him to pop out to first baseman David Ortiz. Buchholz then got out of the inning unscathed, getting Joe Mauer grounding into a double play to end the bottom of the first.
There was more trouble in the bottom of the second. After getting Justin Morneau to ground out, Buchholz hit Josh Willingham and walked Ryan Doumit. With two on and one out, Buchholz struck out Luke Hughes and Brian Dozer to end another threat.
His final line for the evening: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. While Buchholz admits there was a little rust after his long break from the mound, it was good to get in those situations early on.
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"First inning, the mindset was just try to relax," said Buchholz. "Don't try to overthrow, just try to spot up. It went a little haywire, but I think being in those situations – having guys on base – is good. It just allows you to be ready for those situations in the real season."
"I mixed in of couple curveballs, a couple of changeups. I predominantly wanted to throw some four-seem, two seems and cutters just to work x's on both sides of the plate. I missed on a couple of pitches, but I was able to come back and throw a couple for strikes too," he said.
Buchholz said he is still doing exercises to strengthen his core, something other teammates are adopting in hopes of avoiding back injuries like the one the Sox pitcher suffered last season.
"I want to do it," he said of the extra exercises. "There are even other guys on the team that have started doing stuff to build strength there. Even position players and hitters twist and turn every game they play. I think all the exercise is good and it helps; not just for guys that have been hurt but for guys to prevent."
