Buchholz Sharp..Pedey's Return..Drew Hurt

The Boston Red Sox thumped the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning by a score of 11-4. The contest marked the return of AL MVP Dustin "Pedey" Pedroia, his first appearance since the WBC injury debacle. He looked good and felt good. Pedey said this after the game...

“I felt good,” Pedroia said. “I think the biggest thing is seeing how it feels Saturday. Hopefully, I’m not sore or anything like that. Definitely want to take it slow. I’ve been doing all my treatments and stuff. It was good to get back on the field and get a couple of at-bats and get back in the game rhythm."

Let's hope he wakes up this morning feeling terrific. He, like the injured Kevin Youkilis, is a vital part of this 2009 Red Sox team. Clay Buchholz started the game for Boston and pitched brilliantly once again. He went five innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits while walking one. I see him in the starting rotation soon, really soon, maybe after they put Tim Wakefield to bed. Remember, John Smoltz will be ready and able within two months, at the most. Bench coach Brad Mills had this to say about Buchholz...

“I thought he was throwing the ball real well. And his demeanor, his tempo on the mound have all been improving this whole spring. And it’s sure nice to see.”

Here's the Boston pitching line. Notice that closer Jonathon Papelbon is continuing his series of rough one inning stints...I hope he's OK. Here's that pitching summary...

IP H R ER BB SO HR
C Buchholz (W,2-0) 5 4 1 0 1 3 0
J Papelbon 1 3 2 2 1 3 0
T Saito 1 3 1 1 0 0 0
H Okajima 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
J Lopez 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

That's not a vintage Papelbon inning, far from it, in fact. He's had few 1-2-3 innings so far this spring. JD Drew was hit on the right hand by a pitch and was taken for X-RAYS, which showed no break. The team is calling it a "bruised" right hand which will sideline him for a few days. Some guys have all the luck...Julio Lugo comes to mind with a different injury every three months. I hope this horrid spate of injuries ceases quickly, maybe today. Enough is enough. My goodness.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the NCAA basketball tourneys all day long (men-CBS, women-ESPN2) and don't forget, NESN is televising the Red Sox-Marlins game starting at 1pm EDT today. That's right! Click on the title of this post for more Sox stuff and as always, BE WELL. GO UCONN. Go Sox. Go you!