Yesterday, Clay Buchholz made his fourth start in place of the injured Steven Wright for the Boston Red Sox. In what is becoming “old hat,” Buchholz delivered his third quality start in those four appearances. That is the same number of quality starts that Buchholz produced in his 13 starts between April and July.
Buchholz was a man extracted from the starting rotation, much like an impacted Wisdom Tooth, for his inability to retire opposing hitters. Nonetheless, at present, he is suddenly retiring those hitters with the greatest of ease. How did Buchholz do the impossible?