BUCHHOLZ

PAWTUCKET — The Red Sox and Clay Buchholz appear to be working hard to send messages to each other.

The Red Sox last week sent a not-so-subtle message to Buchholz that he should not be worried about when he will return to Boston. One day last week, when Buchholz arrived at McCoy Stadium, he found two boxes of his gear at his locker. It was baseball equipment that Buchholz had left behind when he was sent to Pawtucket on rehabilitation assignment.

The message sure seemed clear: You are in Pawtucket now, Clay, and you might be there for a while. Buchholz confirmed the delivery of his equipment.

“It was all of it,” he said.

“I don’t know,” he responded when asked what it meant. “I actually needed some of the stuff, anyway, so it wasn’t a bad deal. I don’t know. They’ve got guys up there throwing the ball well right now. It’s sort of a case of not having enough room to carry everybody that wants to be up there. It is what it is. It’s a long season, especially up there.

There’s another half-season to go. We’ll see where it goes.”

“I’ll just keep throwing. That’s all I can do,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll put a couple more good starts back to back and see where that goes.”

Buchholz’s best response to whatever it is the Sox want from him has been on the mound. He is pitching superbly, showing that he is major-league ready. He did it again last night.

The lanky right-hander pitched 6 2/3 innings. He allowed five hits and one run, that in the seventh when his team led Richmond, 8-0, on the way to a 10-1 victory. For six innings, Richmond never got a runner past second base. Buchholz ran his streak of scoreless innings to 17 before cleanup hitter Barbaro Canizares led off the seventh with a home run.

Buchholz walked two and struck out seven. He threw 87 pitches, 57 for strikes. In his last three starts, Buchholz has walked six and struck out 21.

His work continues to be limited. Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said before the game that there are no restrictions on Buchholz, who has long since recovered from the torn fingernail that sent him to the DL. Still, in his seven starts with Pawtucket, the most pitches Buchholz has thrown is 91, at Lehigh Valley on June 14.

Johnson spoke about how happy he was with Buchholz — not just his pitching, but his poise.

“I liked the composure on the mound. He made certain pitches. When he had to make a quality pitch he did it,” the manager said. “We all have to fall in love with his stuff. When you look at a player’s development, where Buck is right now, it’s really good to see that composure on the mound. You could see it tonight.”

Buhholz mowed down the Braves even though he did not feel he was at his best.

“I didn’t really feel like I had a lot of energy (the) first two or three innings, then something clicked,” he said. “I felt like I could throw the ball to both sides of the plate with a little more velocity.

“I’ve gotten a lot more confidence than I had a month and a half ago, knowing that at points in the game when I need to get an out or get a swing and a miss, I can do it when I need to. That’s basically what I’m supposed to be doing now, gaining confidence and being able to throw (to) both sides of the plate,” he said.

pkenyon@projo.com