A tale of two pitchers

The Phillies and Red Sox each had a starter going tonight who has been woefully inconsistent this year. Brett Myers pitched well; Clay Buchholz didn't, and his teammates were nearly no-hit.

Good job by young Brett - seven-plus innings, four hits, one walk and two strikeouts. He gave up an unearned run. I would like to see some more strikeouts, but all in all, a promising start. He even pitched into the 8th but was lifted after Chase Utley muffed a double play. But since Utley's two-run homer accounted for all the Phillies runs, we can forgive him. Phillies 2, Nationals 1.

I won't proclaim Myers "back" until I see a couple more starts like this.

Clay Buchholz, however, could really use a start like this. Facing the Angels, the best team in the league, even before the addition of Mark Teixeira tonight, young Clay was rocked for five earned in 6 1/3. The Sox lost 6-2 and didn't get a hit until there was one out in the 9th. Good job by John Lackey, bad job by the defending champs. (I'm getting the feeling I should start using that term more often because, before long, it may no longer apply.)