PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP) — After working on offspeed pitches in a simulated game, Clay Buchholz focused on them some more Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Relying on his curveball and changeup, Buchholz allowed one run and four hits in five innings as the Boston Red Sox won 8-4.
His lone run allowed came on Evan Longoria’s secondinning homer.
Buchholz struck out four and walked none. New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said thought his pitcher and catcher worked well together.
“You know, at first they didn’t. They weren’t on the same page because they didn’t realize that Clay just wanted to throw more changeups today and less curveballs in the first inning,” Valentine said. “He worked real good, and other than the back-to-back changeups to Longoria and the fastball that everybody knew was coming, I thought he was perfect. Real good outing.”
Rays left- hander Matt Moore, back from a mild abdominal strain, gave up four runs, two hits and three walks in 2.1 innings, leaving after he walked the bases loaded in the third.
Moore allowed solo homers to Cody Ross and Josh Kroeger, and threw just 26 of 52 pitches for strikes.
Ross, who has a history of struggling in spring training, homered for the second straight day and is hitting .455. With Carl Crawford recovering from a wrist injury, Ross likely will get playing time at the start of the season.
Longoria’s homer was his first hit of spring training. He was 2 for 3 with a walk, two runs and an RBI.
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