Red Sox 5 - 2 Braves
Final
  for this game

Boston's Buchholz battles Braves

Jun 18, 2015 - 2:32 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Clay Buchholz hopes to get himself on track Thursday night and pitch the Boston Red Sox to a split of their four-game series with the Atlanta Braves.

It has been an inconsistent season for Buchholz, who is 3-6 with a 4.22 earned run average. He hurled eight scoreless innings and struck out eight to beat Minnesota 1-0 on June 2, but has since yielded four runs in consecutive no- decisions. Buchholz lasted just 4 2/3 innings versus Oakland on June 7, tagged for 10 hits and a pair of walks.

The righty then yielded four runs on eight hits and a walk over six frames against Toronto on Saturday, but did strike out seven in his club's 5-4 loss.

Buchholz was tagged for six runs on four hits and eight walks in only three innings of work the first and only time he faced the Braves, though he escaped with a no-decision.

Winless over his past five outings, Shelby Miller starts tonight for the Braves seeking his first victory since May 17.

Miller has allowed more than two earned runs in a start only twice this season, but both instances have come over his last three outings. He is coming off a third-straight no-decision on Saturday versus the New York Mets, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings. All three runs came in his final frame of work, but Atlanta rallied for a 5-3 victory.

Miller is 5-2 with a solid 2.02 ERA this season and got a no-decision in his lone previous meeting with the Red Sox, yielding a run and four hits over seven innings.

After splitting two meetings in Boston, the Braves recorded a 5-2 home victory over the Red Sox last night. Pedro Ciriaco keyed the offense with three hits and a pair of RBI.

Nick Markakis, Cameron Maybin and A.J. Pierzynski all drove in a run for the Braves, who next try to win consecutive games for the first time since June 9-10.

"Everybody had some good at-bats," Atlanta outfielder Jace Peterson said. "I think we looked good and played good tonight."

Nick Masset earned the win after tossing a scoreless seventh inning. Starter Alex Wood surrendered just two runs -- one earned -- on five hits with seven strikeouts over six-plus frames.

Mike Napoli homered and Brock Holt and Pablo Sandoval each had two hits for the Red Sox. Holt hit for the cycle in a victory on Tuesday, when Boston snapped a season-high seven-game slide before falling right back into the loss column last night.

Starter Joe Kelly didn't factor into the decision. He allowed two runs over five-plus innings on the mound and chipped in offensively with an RBI single.

"I just fell behind and was throwing pitches a little off the corner or down," Kelly said.

Atlanta is expected to be without first baseman Freddie Freeman tonight. He exited last night's contest early due to a nagging wrist injury originally suffered last Saturday and is day-to-day.

The Red Sox have won seven of nine and 11 of their last 14 meetings with the Braves, winning all four encounters last season.






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