Boston Red Sox Pitcher Clay Buchholz Named AL Pitcher of the Month for April

The outstanding start to the 2013 season continued for Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz, as he was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for April. 

MassLive.com’s Evan Drellich first reported the story in a tweet: 

"

Clay Buchholz is American League pitcher of the month. Gets a trophy!

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) May 2, 2013"

The Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson reported via Twitter that Buchholz beat out Tampa Bay Rays’ starter Matt Moore for the honor:

"

Clay Buchholz (1.19 ERA) wins AL Pitcher of the Month honors, beating out Tampa Bay's Matt Moore (1.13 ERA).

— Brian MacPherson (@brianmacp) May 2, 2013"

The 28-year-old right-handed Buchholz was downright dominant in April. He won all five of his starts while posting a 1.19 ERA, striking out 39 batters and allowing just 25 hits in 37.2 innings. 

New Red Sox catcher David Ross told WEEI’s Rob Bradford how impressed he has been with Buchholz: 

"

He can execute four to five pitches on both sides of the plate. There’s not many other guys in the big leagues who can do that. That’s why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s that good. There is nothing that team can sell out to… He can really pitch and I’m glad he’s on my side.

"

Although he has pitched at least seven innings in every start this season, Buchholz’s best outing came on April 14 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He struck out 11 and permitted just two hits in eight innings, losing a no-hitter in the eighth inning.

According to the official Red Sox Twitter account, Buchholz is the first Boston player to earn pitcher of the month honors since he claimed the title in August, 2010:

"

MLB has named Clay Buchholz AL Pitcher of Month for April.Buchholz was last Red Sox to be named Pitcher of Month in August 2010.

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 2, 2013"

Buchholz has already thrown his hat into the race for the American League Pitcher of the Month for May. He beat the Toronto Blue Jays on May 1, throwing seven shutout innings while striking out eight and allowing just two hits.

For the season, he is 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA. He leads the league in wins, ERA and innings, while his 47 strikeouts are good for third behind only Yu Darvish and Anibal Sanchez. 

It’s still early but Buchholz has erupted out of the gate as the best pitcher in the American League. If he can continue his rock solid pitching, he will set himself up for a run at the Cy Young and put Boston in a good position to compete for the playoffs.

Statistics via Baseball-Reference 

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