(Photo of glossy substance on Clay Buchholz’ forearm)
The Minnesota Twins close a 10-game road trip with a four game series in Boston, starting Monday night at Fenway Park.
Pitching for the Red Sox will be right-hander Clay Buchholz, who is 6-0 with an MLB-best 1.01 earned run average. He was named American League Pitcher of the Month on Thursday.
In his latest start, Buchholz was called out by former Twins ace and current Blue Jays broadcaster Jack Morris for throwing illegal spitballs.
Morris says Buchholz could be seen repeatedly bringing his index and middle finger to his left forearm, which had a substance of some kind covering it.
Buchholz denies the accusation, saying he’s doing the same things he did back in 2008 when he was sent to Double A.
Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci analyzed tape of Buchholz from last season to this season, and writes that “Buchholz is doing something this year with his left forearm that he was not doing last year.”
An article from the Boston Globe argues the accusations against Buchholz “don’t hold any water.”
Twins reliever Ryan Pressley was Buchholz’ teammate at one point, and he tells the Pioneer Press that nobody in Boston taught him how to throw a spitter.
While Buchholz has held opponents this season to .178 batting average, current players for the Twins are hitting a combined .327 lifetime against Buchholz.
