So while his teammates were sweating under the brutal heat, Buchholz was also wilting, done in by a third inning in which nine Royals batted. Nor did it ultimately work out for the Red Sox, despite a ninth-inning rally, the team falling to the Royals, 4-3, in front of 24,378 at Kauffman Stadium last night.
"I'm just not catching any breaks at all," Buchholz said. "The great players that play this game, they make their breaks. That's the little challenge for me, to make a break. It feels like when I do make a pitch, it's right out of reach of somebody."
Insisting that he's not feeling pressured, Buchholz added, "The only time you've got to prove something to somebody is when you're in the minor leagues trying to make it up there. I told myself, 'I'm here, go out and throw.' "
But even with Buchholz's struggles, the Sox still had a chance. After stranding two runners in the eighth, they broke through in the ninth. After Coco Crisp led off the inning with a single, J.D. Drew struck out, but Dustin Pedroia singled for his third hit, and David Ortiz strode to the plate. It was strength against strength, Ortiz against All-Star closer Joakim Soria.
Soria won. Ortiz tapped a grounder to first base, moving the runners over.
The Royals followed that by intentionally walking Kevin Youkilis, the go-ahead run, to pitch to new acquisition Jason Bay. Bay converted, with Alex Gordon and Tony Pena colliding on his grounder to the left side. Bay was credited with a single, a run scored, and the bases were loaded again.
But Sean Casey couldn't come through, lining to right field to finish off the game.
"Probably should have maybe squeaked that one out of there," Casey said. "I hit an 0-and-2 curveball. I really thought I got it in the corner. I don't know if he had it shaded over there. I thought I got it in the corner, but he was there."
