Buchholz to try to delay retirement of Ortiz
BOSTON — The protective plastic sheeting from Toronto’s end-of-season celebration still was covering the lights in the visitor’s clubhouse at Fenway Park on Saturday.
No reason to take it down. They might need it again pretty soon.
The Cleveland Indians arrived in Boston with a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five AL Division Series and a chance to eliminate the Red Sox in Game 3 on Sunday. If they do, it also will be the end for Boston designated hitter David Ortiz, who will retire at the end of the sea- son but will do everything he can before then to make sure that doesn’t come quite so soon.
“Everybody had it mapped out in their head in spring training what we wanted to do, knowing that David was not going to be here next year,” said Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, who will try to keep the season going. “We reached the first goal, and that was to get in the playoffs and win the division. Second part of it has not worked out the first two games, but I don’t think there’s anybody on this team that’s more confident than David Ortiz about us moving forward.
“And whenever he comes to bat, he would love to put himself in the most pressure-packed position,” Buchholz said. “That’s just what he’s done over his career.”
After Cy Young Award candidate Rick Porcello and ace David Price failed to beat Cleveland in the first two games, Buchholz (8-10, 4.78 in 2016) will try to slow down an Indians offense that already has four homers in the series. He will face Cleveland righthander Josh Tomlin (13-9, 4.40), a former teammate from Angelina Junior College.
Tomlin said the two pitchers get together in the offseason and have been back to the school in Lufkin to work out with their coach. When their teams play, they sometimes hang out or go out to lunch.
“This is a pretty cool story,” Buchholz said. “We talked about it the other day. He’s one of my good buddies.… It’s a small world when it comes to that.”