A second World Series title for the Red Sox was still months away, and once the field cleared from an opening-day storm that dropped a foot of snow on Hadlock Field, fans got a preview of what was to come for Boston as Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz shined for the Sea Dogs.
Ellsbury was named the Eastern League player of the month for April (.455, 10 doubles, 2 triples, 12 RBI, 6 SB). On May 4, Ellsbury was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket and on June 30, he made his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform.
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Then there was Clay Buchholz. On May 1, he worked six perfect innings against Bowie before giving up a leadoff single in the seventh. He was promoted to Pawtucket on July 10, and then on Sept. 1 found himself making his second major league start. But his game at Fenway Park against Baltimore was special as he became the first Red Sox rookie to toss a no-hitter.
Ellsbury would join six other Sea Dogs (Josh Beckett, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis) on the Red Sox World Series roster. Each former Sea Dog would play a key role in the Red Sox’s second world championship in four years.
Although the Red Sox World Series win was the ultimate highlight of the 2007 season, there were several other special moments for the Sea Dogs. On May 23 in Trenton, N.J., Buchholz faced Roger Clemens, who was preparing to return to the Yankees. Jed Lowrie had two hits against Clemens and Iggy Suarez provided the first hit with a triple down the line.
Portland got a pitching boost just prior to the All-Star break as Justin Masterson joined the club from Class A Lancaster. In his Double-A debut July 9, Masterson fired 62/3 innings of hitless ball on two walks and nine strikeouts. Masterson won four straight and was named Eastern League player of the month for July (4-0, 1.36 ERA, 35 Ks, 8 walks).
In addition to Buchholz, three Sea Dogs were selected to play in the Eastern League All-Star Game: Jeff Corsaletti, Jed Lowrie and Charlie Zink.
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