Boston Red Sox to bring Clay Buchholz in against New York Yankees in 2011 regular season
Looking at Clay Buchholz splendid performance against veteran New York Yankees line-up on Friday, March 4 at George M. Steinbrenner Field for the Boston Red Sox sixth game of Grapefruit League, manager Terry Francona announced that he will not put Buchholz
in against the Yankees until the regular season.
Francona does not want the Yankees to get used to Buchholz’s pitching style during Spring Training. He is looking to bring him back against the Yankees in the 2011 regular season.
Buchholz agreed with the manager’s strategy as he was of the opinion that facing the Yankees in Spring Training does not mean that much as compared to facing them during the 2011 regular season where it counts.
Yankees were completely outclassed as Clay did not allow their batters including Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, to make even a single run in three innings. Buchholz closed his amazing spell with two strike-outs and two walks as he led the team to a 5-3
victory over New York that has kept Boston unbeatable during Spring Training.
Though he proved his skills, the fear of veterans was in his mind. "I looked at it and was like, 'Man, another All-Star team,'" Buchholz said. "But it was good going out there and facing guys like this. It definitely makes you better, because this is a time
to go out there and work on your pitches."
The Yankees and Red Sox will meet 18 times during the 2011 regular season, including three games at Boston and three at New York. The clubs have split their 18-game regular season series in each of the past three campaigns from 2008-10.
It seems that the rivalry is already starting up again in the spring session, as the Francona insists on giving the Yankees something to think about as he keeps Buchholz out of their sight during the exhibition period.
Buchholz is a tremendously talented pitcher that has proven that he can handle the top batters in the league. He will be looking to come out positive and confident during the regular season and lead the Red Sox to a successful 2011 regular season.
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