Boston right-hander Clay Buchholz says his latest bullpen session was "probably the best day so far" in his recovery from neck and shoulder ailments.

Buchholz has been sidelined since June 9. He threw nearly 50 pitches Wednesday.

Helz got up and down three times to simulate inning breaks, and said his final 10 to 15 pitches were thrown at approximately 85 percent effort.

Buchholz will throw a similar session on Saturday, then pitch with batters standing in the box in his following stint.

"I'd rather have some guys stand in," he said. "You know, it's been a while. Instead of just going out and throwing in a minor league game, it'd be better for me to just see the hitter and be able to throw my pitches doing that."

Buchholz was 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA before he hurt himself fielding two grounders on June 8 against the Angels.

[Associated Press]

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