Clay vital to playoff run

Buchholz key part of rotation

NEW YORK — For someone who has been kicked to the curb and left for dead as often as Clay Buchholz has in his career, the right-hander looked and sounded remarkably chipper yesterday. No wonder. Once again — and maybe not for the last time, either — Clay Buchholz matters.

You read that correctly. Not only is Buchholz relevant and in the rotation mix again, but he’s vitally important to the club’s chances of advancing deep into this upcoming postseason.

Penciled in as the No. 3 or 4 starter depending upon whom the Red Sox face in the Division Series, the club’s need for Buchholz (and Eduardo Rodriguez) to follow Rick Porcello and David Price has not been this acute in a long time.

That’s quite a comeback for a starter who was ejected from the rotation in July for underachievement, and then brought back from the bullpen because he was needed once again.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs this year for me individually, but you’ve got to learn from the times that you’re not doing your job,” said Buchholz. “Sometimes taking a step back.

“Moving to the bullpen wasn’t what exactly what I had mapped out in my head for me to do this year, but overall I think it helped me out, to take a deep breath and work on stuff.”

Buchholz returned to the rotation on Sept. 6, and has been as important as any other starter in the Sox’ September run to the AL East crown. The team won four of his five starts, and Buchholz posted a 3-0 record with a 3.14 ERA and .219 batting average against with 21 strikeouts and 10 walks in 282⁄3 innings.

Those are respectable numbers, helped out by arguably his best start, which was his last one here on Wednesday night. Buchholz pitched six shutout innings and allowed just one hit in a game that was scoreless when he left, but ended with a shocking ninth-inning walkoff grand slam off Joe Kelly.

The start was his second strong start against the Yankees this month, and it stood in stark contrast to Buchholz’ prior track record against the Yankees. They have always hit him hard, and he carried a 6-9 record with a 5.99 ERA against them, and 4-4, 6.51 numbers at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees are not on the Red Sox’ postseason dance card, but the point is that if the notoriously inconsistent Buchholz is on one of his patented good streaks — his come in only two varieties, dominating and frightening — the success against the Yankees bodes very well.

“It was good to go out and pitch well in this place where I haven’t ever really pitched well, and it’s gratifying to throw well against a club historically I haven’t thrown well against,” said Buchholz. “Every start since I’ve gotten back in the rotation has been a step in the right direction, and I’m getting more comfortable with the little adjustments that I’ve made, and it’s been fun.”

It shows you just how high Buchholz’ stock has risen to realize that manager John Farrell caught grief from certain corners of the interwebs for taking Buchholz out of that game after only 89 pitches and the six innings. When “more Buchholz” is the cry heading into a postseason run, you know a rising tide is lifting Buchholz’ bandwagon.

“I feel good, I felt like I could have gone out and thrown as many pitches as they wanted me to,” said Buchholz.

Attentive Red Sox fans will recall that three years ago, a mysterious neck injury that prevented him from pitching the middle three months of the season began to loosen its hold in September 2013. When that championship run began, Buchholz pitched Game 3 of the Division Series against the Rays (on nine days rest) and got a no-decision. He went on to make three other starts, two in the ALCS and one more in Game 4 of the World Series.

He has made one other postseason appearance, another no-decision in the third game of the 2009 Division Series game against the Angels. Overall in his 252⁄ innings of 3 postseason experience, Buchholz has no decisions, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

Perhaps the timeout he served in the bullpen not only settled his mind, but also preserved some bullets for this postseason run. After all, he will enter this postseason having thrown “only” 1391⁄3 innings. For most starters that’s a paltry figure, but for the oft-injured Buchholz, it’s his highest mark since 2014.

“I feel like, moving forward,” said Buchholz, “whatever they need me to do as far as pitch counts and everything, I’m going to be able to do.”

Reaching his potential has always been the challenge for Buchholz. Now, more than ever, the Red Sox need him to try, try again.