Buchholz gives up 4 runs in 7 innings in Portland

By Dan Hickling, Globe Correspondent

PORTLAND, Maine -- Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs tonight against the New Britain Rock Cats. Save for one rough inning, he looked like the Buchholz of old (at this level) anyway. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, struck out eight Rock Cats and didn't walk any.

Buchholz threw 93 pitches, 69 for strikes, and capped his night with a nifty coverage play at first base. He left the game with a lead, but did not get the win after the Rock Cats rallied for two runs in the eighth and pulled out a 6-5 victory.

Buchholz was quite pleased with the way he threw, and the way he felt.

"I felt really good," Buchholz said. "There were a lot of mechanical things that I've been thinking about, that I didn't try to think about (tonight). I went back to what I did last year when I was here. They seemed to work real well for me. So I tried to revert back to that a little bit."

He said his next start will probably come on Saturday. He also said he's prepared himself to stay in Portland for the rest of the season.