Boston Red Sox 2015 All-Star Break Grades: Starting Rotation

Clay Buchholz

In his first seven starts, Buchholz’s ERA inflated to 5.73. But he looked like an ace in his next 10 starts, posting a 1.99 ERA while helping the Boston Red Sox stay in striking ground of the mediocre AL East race. But the often-hurt Buchholz (7-7, 3.26 ERA) landed on the disabled list again and there is no telling if he will be able to regain his form in his return to the mound.

Grade: B

Rick Porcello

There is no bigger disappointment in baseball than Porcello. Expected to fortify an ace-less Boston rotation, Porcello (5-9) owns the highest ERA (5.90) in the American League. The right-hander signed a four year, $82.5 million contract extension before the year began and has rewarded Boston with his worst year of his career.

Grade: F

Eduardo Rodriguez

The 22-year-old left-hander who was acquired in the trade that sent Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles last July has looked dominant in seven of his nine starts. If his two horrific starts—June 14 (9 ER in 4.2 innings in loss versus Toronto Blue Jays) and June 25 (6 ER in 2.2 innings in loss to Orioles)—were excluded from his stats, Rodriguez would own a 5-0 record with a 1.22 ERA. Rodriguez (5-2, 3.59 ERA) looked sharp in his first start against the New York Yankees, picking up a victory in a contest in which he surrendered only two runs in 6.2 innings.

Grade: B+

Wade Miley

Miley’s meltdown against the Orioles showed he was an emotionally weak player. Miley’s 3.39 walks per nine innings rate ranks sixth worst in the league. He hasn’t been an innings-eater as advertised but has managed to salvage his season with decent numbers at home, particularly against left-handed batters.

Grade: C-

Joe Kelly

Kelly asserted he would win the American League Cy Young before the season began. He is currently stuck in the minors.

Grade: F

Justin Masterson

Not much was expected of the former All-Star this season. Nonetheless, the Red Sox had hoped for more than what Masterson—who spent half of the season in the minors/on the disabled list—provided in nine woeful starts. Masterson, who owns a horrific 6.00 ERA, will look to stick on the major-league roster as a long reliever.

Grade: D

Steven Wright

The 30-year-old knuckleballer looked decent in four starts (11 appearances overall) for the Red Sox this season. Wright (3-2, 4.15 ERA) should see more MLB action in the second half of the season with Buchholz on the disabled list for an undisclosed amount of time.

Grade: C+

Pedroia’s 100th HR comes in grand style as Sox topple A’s

Dustin Pedroia’s 100^th career home run could not have come at a better time for the Boston Red Sox, a club that has been hampered by their lack of timely hitting all season. The Red Sox entered Friday’s contest versus the Oakland A’s with a subpar .229 batting average with runners in scoring position in 2014.

Dustin Pedroia connected on the A's Ryan Cook's 0-2 pitch, croaking a grand slam over the Green Monster. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Pedroia delivered a clutch grand slam, elevating the second baseman into the triple-digit home run club, also recording his 503 career RBI’s in the process. In becoming the 27^th player in Red Sox history with at least 100 homers and 500 RBIs, Pedroia also joined elite company with Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski as the only players in franchise history to record least 100 homers, 500 RBIs and 100 stolen bases.

Pedroia belted the four-run shot over the Green Monster off A’s reliever Ryan Cook as the Sox took a 6-1 lead that was never to be relinquished.

"As a team we’ve been scuffling a little bit with guys on, so I kept my weight back, which is nice, I haven’t been doing that lately," Pedroia said, via MassLive.com. "I was able to hit it, I kind of hit it off the end but I back-spun it and was just able to get it over the Monster."

          Pedroia’s monster shot was long overdue. The four-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year (2007) and Most Valuable Player (2008) entered Friday’s tilt with no dingers on the year.

“I’m feeling good. I’m still trying to make adjustments every day trying to get better. I was pretty excited to hit a home run. It’s been a while,” Pedroia said, via the Boston Globe.

It had been 163 at-bats between home runs for Pedroia, who last went yard on Sept. 17, 2013, a span of 52 games (36 in the regular season and 16 in the playoffs).

Right-hander Clay Buchholz delivered his second consecutive solid outing in the Red Sox’s 7-1 victory. He allowed a season-low in runs (1) and hits (3) in 6 1/3 innings of work. Buchholz picked up the win, evening his record at 2-2 for the year.

Clay Buchholz unperturbed by designation as No. 5 starter; All-Star aims to stay healthy throughout season

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell divulged his plans for the order of the starting rotation on Monday. Jon Lester is slated to be the ace of the pitching staff, followed by John Lackey, Felix Doubront, Jake Peavy and (finally) Clay Buchholz.

            Lester was the most consistent pitcher for the Red Sox during the regular season and the playoffs in 2013. Therefore, the southpaw deserves to spearhead the rotation and make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start.

            Farrell’s decision to tab Buchholz as the fifth starter was the most noteworthy, given the right-hander’s incredulous 1.74 ERA last season. The challenge for Buchholz was staying healthy as the 29-year-old started just 16 games last season.

Clay Buchholz looks to avoid the injury bug in 2014: Michael Ivins/ Getty Images

            Buchholz was not bothered by his placement in the rotation.

            "My first or second year in the big leagues my job was to be the fourth or fifth starter," Buchholz told MassLive.com reporter Jason Mastrodonato. “And there was a span during the season when four or five games in a row I faced (CC Sabathia, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke), so it doesn't matter where you start."

            Staying healthy is the focus for Buchholz, who could care less about his positioning in the pitching rotation. His inability to stay on the field has led to criticism towards the 2013 All-Star by the media, including Boston.com’s Eric Wilbur. In his most recent column regarding Buchholz, he wrote:

            "In 2014, he’s already been tabbed Boston’s fifth starter, a status not indicative of his talent, but his penchant to either break down or refuse to pitch at anything less than 100 percent."

            Wilbur goes on to characterize Buchholz as a fragile player that has only shown flickers of his true skill.

            "But having to slot Buchholz there not only speaks to his brittle nature, but his dependability. Other than his 17-7 campaign of 2010, expectations for Buchholz have annually been disappointing despite flashes of brilliance."

            The injury that hampered Buchholz for over two months last season was certainly mysterious. He stayed on the disabled list from the end of May until the beginning of September with a sore neck, apparently caused from holding his sleeping child in his arms in a very uncomfortable position.

            Buchholz did not endear as much as scrutiny as one would expect a pitcher to have to deal with in a media and sports crazed city like Boston, mainly because of how well the Sox played throughout the entire year. Buchholz returned to the rotation for the playoffs, and while he was not the dominant pitcher he was in the regular season, he helped the franchise earn its eighth World Series championship. Now, Buchholz is ready for 2014 and is concentrating on remaining healthy all season.

            "I would've loved to pitch all the through (2013) but it didn't happen," Buchholz said via MassLive.com. "So I have to try to find a way to do it this year."