The best team in the American League (Boston Red Sox 15-7) kept the league’s worst team (Houston Astros 7-15) on pace to shatter the strike out record in their first year in the league. Clay Buchholz (5-0, 1.19 ERA) struck out 10 Astros and Daniel Bard struck out the 207th Astro this season – putting them on pace for 1524 to shatter the AL record in their first year in the league and come within five of the MLB record.
The 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks set the record with 1529. The record for the American League, where pitchers do not routinely fan a couple of times a game, is much lower at 1387 for the A’s last year.
With a dominant pitcher like Buchholz on the mound against a team making less than three individual players this season, the Red Sox put this one away in the first inning with four quick runs off Philip Humber. Rick Ankiel (pictured after one of his 28 strikeouts), had a first inning error to go with four Red Sox hits in the first inning. The Astros hoped picking up Humber the year after he threw a perfect game would give them a good spot in the rotation, but the start after giving up eight runs in the opening inning he dropped to 0-5.
The Astros scratched back for two runs, only to have David Ortiz remind everyone once again that this was their “f…. town,” blasting a 439-foot homer to make it 5-2 en route to a 7-2 win.
For the AP story on the game, click here.
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