The former Hart Trophy winner has 45

[lebaobei123]

SEATTLE -- Clay Buchholz felt exhausted after throwing only 76 pitches. His return to the mound for the Red Sox after nearly a month on the disabled list was a test by an aggressive Seattle offence that had battered Boston pitching the first two games of the series. "They made me work hard," Buchholz said. "I knew they were swinging. Thats about the most aggressive team that Ive pitched to in my career. For the number of pitches that I threw that was a grinding, stressful outing knowing I cant make a mistake." Buchholz pitched into the eighth inning in his first start since late May, David Ortiz gave him cushion from the start with his 449th career home run in the first inning, and Boston avoided being swept with a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Outside of three batters in the second inning, Buchholzs return could not have gone much better. He was efficient, he pitched deep into the game to save Bostons bullpen and he relied on more than just two pitches. Buchholz was using just his fastball and cutter early in the season. The time away allowed him to work on his curveball and changeup and as his outing progressed, those pitches got better. Buchholz was so good with his pitch efficiency teammates were questioning whether the count was correct. "At one point I had to ask if the pitch count was right because it was the fifth and he had like 45 pitches," Boston catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "It was good. It was an encouraging outing and Im glad for Clay that he went out and pitched like he did." Ortiz knocked around Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma, plunking a two-run shot off the windows of the cafe in right field at Safeco Field for a 2-0 lead, his 18th of the season. He drove in another run in the third with a line drive off the wall in right that barely cleared the glove of Seattle right fielder Stefen Romero. "I thought we had a very good approach against Iwakuma, who pitches very well in this ballpark," Boston manager John Farrell said. Buchholz (3-4) was knocked around in the second, giving up home runs to Kyle Seager and Mike Zunino, but otherwise avoided problems. Buchholz retired 11 of 12 during one stretch and pitched out of trouble in the sixth inning when the first two batters reached on singles. Buchholz won for the first time since May 2. He had been on the disabled list since May 27 with a hyperextended left knee and after two rehab starts in the minors was brought back to the Red Soxs rotation. Buchholz went 7 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. He struck out two and walked none. He might have gotten through the eighth but Brad Miller led off the inning with a homer. Reliever Andrew Miller struck out pinch-hitters Willie Bloomquist and Cole Gillespie to end the eighth. Koji Uehara pitched the ninth for his 16th save despite allowing two runners. "He looked confident, he looked relaxed," Farrell said of Buchholz. "He was able to make pitches with four different types of pitches. An overall outstanding performance." Iwakuma struggled for the second straight outing, his pitches missing location. Iwakuma (5-4) lasted just four innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs. Iwakuma was done when he failed to record an out after the first three batters of the fifth inning. This wasnt the first time Boston has made Iwakumas night short. Last season, Iwakuma lasted a career-low three innings, giving up eight hits and six runs against the Red Sox. "I couldnt get the first pitch strike which cost me in a couple of at-bats," Iwakuma said through an interpreter. "They took advantage of that, so not being able to throw strike one got to me." NOTES: Ortiz is tied for 36th on the all-time home run list with Jeff Bagwell and Vladimir Guerrero. ... Boston RHP Brandon Workman will start Fridays opener in New York against the Yankees. ... Seattle recalled RHP Brandon Maurer to work out of the bullpen. He was a starter earlier in the season. Eric Fisher Chiefs Jersey . Browns owner Jimmy Haslam announced the move with Young on Monday during a speech at a Pro Football Hall of Fame luncheon. Leon Sandcastle Chiefs Jersey . None of them was better than playing with LeBron James again. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/. Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire. Anthony Fasano Chiefs Jersey . "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. Jaye Howard Chiefs Jersey .Y. -- Nothing seems to phase No.A meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin is usually big enough on its own. The fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins can post the longest home winning streak in franchise history only adds more intrigue to tonights matchup with the Washington Capitals. Catch all the action live on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Penguins return home from a 2-0-1 road trip out west having won 12 straight as the hosting club. That matches the record set between Feb. 22- March 30 of last season. Pittsburgh also comes in well rested, having been off since winning a 2-1 decision in Calgary on Saturday. Marc-Andre Fleury came up with 27 saves and both Chris Kunitz and Matt Niskanen had goals. The Penguins, who are 6-1-1 in their last eight games, had scored 18 non- shootout goals in their previous four games while allowing 15. "It was nice to have a nice, low-scoring game," said Fleury. "The last few games were a little crazy. We have a lot of guys who can score goals, but if we want to be successful we have to do well defensively." Pittsburgh will play its next three at home, where it has not lost since Nov. 13 and is 19-3-0 this season. The Pens also get some rest after this contest as their next game isnt until Monday versus Florida. Even with the recent days off, Penguins forward James Neal is day-to-day and questionable for tonight with an upper-body ailment that has held him out of practice the last two days. Neal has 17 goals and 36 points in 27 games this season and notched a goal and an assist in Pittsburghs 4-0 win over hosting Washington on Nov. 20. Fleury recorded an 18-save shutout, improving to 14-7-2 with a 2.49 goals against average in his career versus the Capitals. Pittsburgh bested Washington for the fifth consecutive game and the Capitals have lost tthree straight in the Steel City following an eight-game series road win streak.dddddddddddd Crosby and Paul Martin also had a goal and an assist in the November victory, while Ovechkin was held to just two shots. Crosby leads the NHL with 67 points and is second with 42 assists. He has logged eight goals and 25 points over a 16-game home point streak and has tallied five goals and 22 points in 12 career home meetings with the Capitals. The former Hart Trophy winner has 45 points in 26 career games versus Washington, while Ovechkin has 22 goals and 40 points in 32 career games against the Penguins. Ovechkin notched his league-leading 33rd goal of the season in last nights 2-1 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks. However, Ovechkin, Eric Fehr and Nicklas Backstrom all failed on their attempts in the tiebreaker, while San Joses Patrick Marleau had the lone shootout goal. "It was a good test for us. A good team. Theyve been together for a long time," said Ovechkin. "I think we had good chances to win the game in (regulation), in the third period, but we got the point." Rookie Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves as he started for the 12th time in Washingtons past 17 games. He is 6-2-5 with a 2.06 GAA and .936 save percentage in 14 games (12 starts) this season. Though Washington has now followed up two straight wins with back-to-back shootout losses, the point moved the Capitals into a tie with Philadelphia for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams trail Pittsburgh by 16 points for the top spot. Washington will play three straight and eight of its next nine on the road, where it is 8-8-4 on the season. Braden Holtby got the start in Washingtons first meeting with Pittsburgh this season, giving up all four goals on 40 shots faced. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '