Clay Buchholz

Clay Buchholz will make his second straight start against Marlins pitcher Mark Buehrle, this time at Fenway Park.

The 27-year-old outdueled Buehrle last Tuesday, going seven innings and allowing one run on five hits while striking out nine in a 2-1 Red Sox win. The outing was Buchholz’s fourth straight of seven or more innings and two or less runs allowed.

The Red Sox righty might be 7-2 on the season, but his ERA still sits at an poor 5.38. However, Buchholz has showed signs of turning his season around, bringing his 7.84 ERA on May 21 all the way down to its current number of 5.38. Included in this recent turnaround was a stellar complete-game shutout against the Orioles on June 7.

That start last Tuesday was the first of Buchholz’s career against the Marlins, giving him a 1-0 record with a 1.29 ERA against Miami. Before Tuesday the righty had only faced two current Marlins batters, now he has faced nine. Jose Reyes had the best day against Buchholz last week, going 2-for-3 with at triple. John Buck has the most at-bats vs. him, but he’s 0-for-7 in his career.

Buehrle will try to rebound after the loss last week against Buchholz. Despite seeing his record go to 5-7, Buehrle pitched well, throwing seven innings of two-run ball while allowing five hits. It was the lefty’s second straight quality start.

The 33-year-old has had a solid but unfortunate season with a 3.41 ERA that has only equated to a 5-7 record. Buehrle has lost his last three straight starts, after going undefeated in five starts from May 5 to May 26. The Marlins lefty has had quality starts in nine of his 13 outings but has a low average run support of two runs in his seven losses.

Buehrle is 6-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 17 starts against Boston after last Tuesday’s loss. David Ortiz and Nick Punto have the most at-bats against the former White Sox hurler, but neither faced him in that game. Ortiz is 20-for-58 and Punto is 14-f0r-50 against him respectively in their careers.

Marlins vs. Buchholz (RHP)

John Buck (9 plate appearances): .000 BA/.222 OBP/.000 SLG, 1 RBI, 1 walk

Austin Kearns (6): .200/.333/.400, 1 doubles, 1 RBI

Omar Infante (3): .500/.667/.500, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Logan Morrison (3): .333/.333/1.333, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout

Hanley Ramirez (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Jose Reyes (3): .667/.667/1.333, 1 triple

Gaby Sanchez (3): .000/.000/.000, 2 strikeouts

Giancarlo Stanton (3): .000/.000/.000. 3 strikeouts

Mark Buehrle (2): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

Red Sox vs. Buehrle (LHP)

David Ortiz (62 plate appearances): .345 BA/.387 OBP/.586 SLG, 8 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBIs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts

Nick Punto (53): .280/.283/.360, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 9 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Mike Aviles (37): .265/.324/.324, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts

Dustin Pedroia (20): .316/.350/.421, 2 doubles, 1 walk, strikeout

Kevin Youkilis (20): .176/.250/.176, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Kelly Shoppach (17): .438/.438/1.125, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, 4 strikeouts

Darnell McDonald (16): .538/.600/.538, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Scott Podsednik (14): .286/.286/.357, 1 double, 1 strikeout

Adrian Gonzalez (6): .200/.333/.400, 1 double, 1 walk

Ryan Kalish (6): .333/.333/.333, 2 strikeouts

Clay Buchholz (3): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

Will Middlebrooks (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3): .000/.000/.000