Former all-star Clay Buckholz combined with three other Northwest Arkansas pitchers for a three-hit shutout to help the Naturals claim its first series win of the season with a 2-0 victory at San Antonio on Tuesday night.
Buchholz pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed just one hit --a lead-off double by Kyle Overtstreet in the fifth --while striking out five and walking two. The former Boston Red Sox star threw 77 pitches, 56 for strikes and retired the first 11 hitters he faced.
Jason Adam followed with 2 1/3 perfect innings to pick up the win. Franco Terrero added a scoreless inning and Jake Newberry notched the save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Naturals (5-7) took two of three from San Antonio. Donnie Dewees Jr. snapped a scoreless tie with two outs in the seventh with an RBI double. Sal Perez, on a Major League rehab assignment, added to the lead with a two-out, run-scoring single in the eighth.
The game started as a battle of big league starting pitchers as Buchholz, who was assigned to the Naturals earlier in the day from extended spring training, squared off against former Natural Matt Strahm, who is also on a Major League rehab assignment.
The 33-year-old righthander is working his way back from surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm, which ended his season last year after just two starts and 7 2/3 innings.
He signed a minor league contract with the Royals in March and will earn $1.5 million of on the Royals' roster with $250,000 in incentives. He does have an opt out clause in his contract if he's not added to the Major League roster by May 1. Buchholz has won 81 games in 11 big league seasons, threw a no-hitter with Boston in 2007 and was twice named an all-star with the Red Sox. But he's also been plagued by injuries.
Strahm, a former top Royals prospect, was traded to San Diego last season and suffered a knee injury last July. He pitched three scoreless innings for the Missions, allowing two hits and striking out four.
Northwest Arkansas will begin a two-game homestand on Thursday against Tulsa.
Sports on 04/18/2018