Red Sox Sweep Mariners Behind Buchholz, Beltre

After pitching just one inning in his last start, Clay Buchholz was looking to return to the form that had put him in the American League ERA lead.

He did just that.

With all three pitches working, Clay worked out of some early and late trouble, holding the Mariners to just one run on a Russel Branyan solo shot. A sudden loss of control in the late innings cost him a few walks, but with six strikeouts and seven solid innings, Clay got the job done.

The offense did their job too. Seven of the starters collected hits, picking up ten total en route to putting up five runs. The top two spots in the lineup got things started as Marco Scutaro continued his recent tear, collecting three hits and a walk, and Ryan Kalish added a double and a triple. While Adrian Beltre only picked up the one hit with his pair of walks, it was a monster. Falling to one knee, Beltre launched an upper decker to give the Red Sox their first run of the night.

Hideki Okajima ran into some early trouble, but pitched his way out for a scoreless inning before the ever-surprising Scott Atchison worked a clean ninth to give the Sox the 5-1 win.

The Sox head back home for a Friday showdown with the Jays.