Red Sox Memories: Boston’s rich history with the immaculate inning
Whattaya Say, Clay?
For all his ups and downs in a Red Sox uniform, Clay Buchholz had a pretty decent run as a member of Boston’s starting rotation. He went 81-61 in his ten-year tenure, had a 3.96 ERA, was a two-time all-star, and managed to hit some rare milestones along the way.
Of course, who could forget in the second start of his career, Clay tossed a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, making him an instant folk hero with the Fenway Faithful.
Clay also tossed an immaculate inning against…guess who? The Orioles. Ten years after Pedro’s double “I”, Clay faced Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Chris Davis in the bottom of the 6th at Camden Yards. By this point, Baltimore had to be petitioning Bud Selig to keep Buchholz far away from them.
Three up, three down as Buchholz would go another two full innings, finishing with an eight-inning, three-run performance. The Sox went on to win 6-3 late in one of the most dreadful seasons in Sox history. Buck is currently a free agent and considering his history against Baltimore, it may be in their best interest to sign him so he can’t pick on them anymore.
Dirty Craig
During his three-year Red Sox tenure, Craig Kimbrel was one of the most dominating closers in the game. He averaged 37 saves a year, and had 305 strikeouts in 184 innings pitched.
After missing the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, Dave Dombrowski acquired Kimbrel from the Padres for the 2016 campaign, and the Sox made three consecutive playoff appearances, bringing home the hardware in 2018 for its ninth world championship.
Kimbrel didn’t bring too much to the table during the ’18 World Series, but on May 11, 2017, he came out of the pen vs. the Brewers at Miller Park and put on a show.
With the Sox leading 4-1 thanks to a strong start from Eduardo Rodriguez, Kimbrel achieved the immaculate inning by inviting Hernan Perez, Travis Shaw, and Domingo Santana to kindly head back to the clubhouse showers. (Fun fact about Shaw…he was on the losing end of another immaculate inning).
Kimbrel had some electric stuff during his time in Boston and would be a pillar of the Red Sox bullpen. The nasty righty would leave the team via free agency after he priced himself out of Boston’s budget.