Those setbacks are why Buchholz has never made 30 starts or pitched 200 innings for the Red Sox. The inability to stay healthy always has been his biggest flaw as a player.

He strained a hamstring running the bases one time. Then there was the minor back injury that lasted three months. A neck strain blew up the season in 2013. Buchholz even landed in the hospital one time with a mysterious illness.

TORONTO — At some point in each of the last five seasons, Clay Buchholz has spent part of June on the disabled list. Every year, as spring turned to summer, something would happen.


“You have to be healthy to be good. That’s been hard for me,” Buchholz said. “I’ve had to find a way around that, to know myself. Maybe it’s just getting older and being around for a little bit.”

In this confounding Red Sox season, Buchholz has found a formula that works. He continued what has been an impressive run on Monday night, throwing eight strong innings in a 3-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Buchholz allowed one run on five hits and struck out five without a walk. On a night the Sox did not want to dive deeply into their bullpen, Buchholz shut down the highest-scoring team in baseball.

“He was outstanding tonight,” manager John Farrell said. “Constant change of speeds, constant change of patterns. It’s a very successful mix.”

In his last nine starts, Buchholz has a 2.13 earned run average. His ERA for the season, an unsightly 6.03 on May 4, has dropped to 3.48. Buchholz has gone seven starts without allowing a home run.

If the Red Sox are still in last place three weeks from now, Buchholz may be their most tradable commodity. But at 30 and under team control at a reasonable cost for two more seasons, dealing him might be foolish.


Forget the argument of whether Buchholz is an ace or not. The numbers show he’s one of the best starters in the American League.

“He had a couple of bumps early in the year. But he’s been very consistent,” Farrell said. “You know he’s going to give you six, seven or possibly more [innings] on a night when he starts. He’s doing that for us. It allows you to be a little more aggressive with the bullpen the day before he starts. That’s comforting.”

After Buchholz went 96 pitches, Koji Uehara got the final three outs for his 17th save. The Red Sox have won three of four and seven of their last 11 games.

“We’ve been winning a lot, playing a solid game offensively and defensively. Pitching-wise, also,” said shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who drove in two runs. “It’s kind of blending in together, all of it.”

Toronto starter R.A. Dickey (3-8) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks over six innings.

The Sox loaded the bases to start the third inning. Jackie Bradley Jr. drew a walk before Mookie Betts singled to right field and Brock Holt walked.

Bogaerts got a fastball from Dickey and he lined it to the gap in right field for a two-run double.

It was the seventh double in the last eight games for Bogaerts.

With runners on second and third and no outs, Dickey got David Ortiz, Pablo Sandoval, and Mike Napoli on infield popups.


Dickey had retired six straight when Betts opened the fifth inning with a triple to left-center. Holt then poked a knuckleball into shallow left field for a single and the Sox had a 3-0 lead.

Buchholz’s night was much less eventful.

With two outs in the second inning, Buchholz hit Russell Martin with a changeup, the ball riding in on his hands. The Red Sox asked for a review, saying the ball hit the knob of the bat. The call stood.

Kevin Pillar followed with a double into the left-field corner. Alejandro De Aza, starting in left field in place of the injured Hanley Ramirez, quickly dug the ball out and made a strong throw to Bogaerts, the cutoff man.

Martin took a hard turn around third base and slipped. Bogaerts threw behind him and Sandoval chased down Martin. Sandoval looked like a defensive end as he pursued Martin down the line and dived to tag him.

Toronto did not advance another into scoring position until the sixth inning, when Devon Travis singled and went to second on a groundout. With two outs, Josh Donaldson hit a ball hard down the third-base line. Sandoval does not go to his backhand well and the ball got by him for a double, scoring Travis for Toronto’s only run.

Jose Bautista followed with a drive to the gap in left-center. De Aza ran the ball down to end the inning. As was the case in the second inning, it was the kind of play Ramirez does not make.


“The range [De Aza] showed tonight was as good as you’re going to see from a left fielder,” Farrell said.

Buchholz was in control throughout.

“Whenever you feel good, you feel like you can command your pitches,” he said. “When you face a team that swings the bat and that’s how they beat guys, hitting the ball hard, you have to try to stay on the corners and not miss middle.”

Buchholz’s next start will be in July. The best June of his career, one defined by the games he played and not those he didn’t, is over.

“If I keep going out there, good things will happen,” Buchholz said.

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Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.