Buchholz on the other side

He has keen view on this no-hit bid

Clay on other side Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz talks about his performance and the near no-hitter tossed by Angels starter John Lackey.

When Clay Buchholz threw his no-hitter Sept. 1 against the Orioles, he tried as hard as he could not to pay attention to the outs. He didn't want to fall out of rhythm or break his concentration. He was much more cognizant of what was going on last night, when he was on the opposite side of John Lackey's no-hit bid.

But he is aware he isn't having the sort of results he keeps anticipating. Not the results he had in his brief appearance last season, or the ones in his recent stint at Triple A Pawtucket.

"It's tough to learn the way that I've been learning this year," Buchholz said after a 6-2 loss to the Angels, his third setback in four starts since his recall this month. "I had my pitches working, had everything working. Felt like velocity was good, thought I missed a spot in location with the home run, but other than that, they sort of put the ball where they had to put it in key situations."

Buchholz was not helped by Mike Lowell's one-out error in the third or Chone Figgins's run-scoring grounder up the middle, which was ruled an error on shortstop Alex Cora, then reversed. Buchholz also gave up a two-run homer to Garret Anderson in the fourth. Two more runs came home in the sixth, inherited runners scoring on Craig Hansen's watch. Still, Buchholz called the game "110 percent" better than his starts earlier in the season.

"His stuff was good," manager Terry Francona said. "I thought his breaking ball was one of the better ones we've seen. His changeup at times is cutting on him a little bit and wandering over the plate or coming through the zone. More than a couple times, he came through his delivery and actually got turned around a little bit. It looks like he's trying sometimes to do too much."

Though Buchholz hadn't allowed a home run in six starts and 40 1/3 innings at Fenway Park, Anderson ended that on a straight fastball down the middle.

"When he gets into a good rhythm, he's pretty good," Jason Varitek said. "Sometimes we've got to find a way to get back into it. It seems like his mistakes are magnified, get him in more trouble than most. That'll change."

Bridge player

With the trade deadline looming tomorrow and the focus on bullpen help, the Sox have already made one move.

By switching rookie Justin Masterson to the bullpen, the Sox hoped to find a pitcher who could go more than one inning in relief, potentially bridging the gap to closer Jonathan Papelbon.

"When he's right, he's pitching in the bottom of the zone, he's inducing ground balls, which he did [Monday], and gets an occasional strikeout," pitching coach John Farrell said. "I think his transition to that role has been relatively seamless."

The biggest change for Masterson has been adapting to the use of fewer pitches - fastball and slider - instead of his usual repertoire. Plus not having to face nearly as many lefthanders.

Opponents would stack their lineups with lefthanders, who have a .235 average against Masterson, but righthanders are hitting only .186 against him. More emphasis was placed on pitching inside to lefties when he was starting.

Masterson spent time talking to Orel Hershiser, now an ESPN analyst, a few weeks ago about the mental challenge of throwing the same pitch to righties and lefties with effectiveness. Hershiser said he sometimes pictured a righthander standing in the box instead of a lefthander, so he could throw that four-seamer to the same spot.

Masterson said he might not go that far, but the mental image hit home. He can get lefties out the same way he can get righties out. "Even over my starts this year, my ability to pitch lefties has increased and increased," Masterson said before laughing. "When you face eight lefties a game, they're bound to get more hits than righties."

No pain for Aardsma

David Aardsma, who has been on the disabled list since July 20 (retroactive to July 19) with a right groin strain, threw a side session yesterday at 85-90 percent, according to Francona, and he's scheduled to throw another Friday. "He's not experiencing pain, which is good," Francona said. "He does still feel some tightness, which I think is expected. Until that dissipates, we're not going to certainly turn him loose in a game. Because the last time, when we were in Anaheim, he threw a side, he really felt real well. Then he got in a game, trying to reach back for a little bit more, that's when he felt it." . . . Julio Lugo is unlikely to go on the upcoming trip to Kansas City and Chicago, likely staying in Boston to work with rehab coordinator Scott Waugh. Lugo has been rehabilitating in water to focus on non-weight-bearing activities. His left quadriceps tear is not ready for baseball activities.

Streak dusted

Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 5 Monday night, ending a stretch in which he'd reached safely in 29 straight games. Pedroia went 1 for 3 last night and has hit in 28 of his last 31 games for a .409 average. He has 5 home runs, 14 doubles, 19 RBIs, and 33 runs in his last 38 games. He began yesterday seventh in batting average in the American League . . . The last time the Red Sox went longer than 8 1/3 innings without a hit was Sept. 2, 2001. Carl Everett got a pinch-hit single to end Mike Mussina's perfect game bid for the Yankees. Mariner Chris Bosio threw the last no-hitter against the Sox, April 22, 1993, at Seattle. The Sox have been no-hit at Fenway just four times . . . The Sox lost eight straight to the Angels Aug. 26, 1961, to May 30, 1962 . . . Infielder Chad Spann was released by Pawtucket . . . Jeff Lasky, director of media relations for the Single A Lancaster JetHawks, reported the team was very close to the epicenter of yesterday's earthquake while on the road in San Bernardino, Calif. The team was on the bus when the quake occurred, but the JetHawks didn't feel anything, he said, though it was felt at the Inland Empire 66ers ballpark. No damage was reported and last night's game went on.