Clay Buchholz and the rest of the Red Sox know Friday's 7:10 p.m. series opener against the Royals means more than most any game.
CLEVELAND — The Red Sox want to be home. They've wanted to be home ever since they were on the bus to the airport to leave Boston on Monday, in the first hour or two after the explosions.
At 7:10 p.m. Friday, baseball is back in Boston, and Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz will have the ball — and crowded thoughts.
"There's going to be a lot of emotions going around the clubhouse and with the fans," Buchholz said Thursday. "It's going to be a special game, definitely one to remember. I'm sort of at a loss for words for it. I'm going to try to keep my emotions under wraps as much as possible. Given the circumstances, it's going to be a day that's in pursuit of recovery for everyone who had to face losses."
Sox starter Jon Lester just pitched, and pitched well, in Thursday's 6-3 win against the Indians. He'll be able to take it all in from the dugout, and he expects a heady feeling in the park. The Red Sox are planning a tribute.
"I imagine it will be pretty emotional for some people," Lester said. "At the same time, we're going to go out there and give a good effort and show them that we care and we're playing for them."
Manager John Farrell, like many on the team, saw how the Bruins handled their game against the Sabres on Wednesday — the anthem that the crowd sang. It was a poignant scene that resonated with the Sox too.
"You know, it was great to see what took place with the anthem and then at the end of the game last night," Farrell said Thursday. "The tribute to the crowd that both the Bruins and the Sabres showed but to see the passion come out in the singing of the national anthem, I think it strikes everyone in a positive way just to see that patriotism play out at a sporting event."
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