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Posted On: September 2nd 2007
Posted By: Adam Coozer
Source: Yahoo! Sports |
Boston 10, Baltimore 0
BOSTON (AP) -- Before Clay Buchholz made his major league debut two weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox told him he was going back to the minors -- even if he pitched a no-hitter.
Got to keep the kid now.
The 23-year-old rookie pitched that no-hitter in just his second outing, using a dazzling three-pitch assortment of fastballs, curves and changeups to beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-0 Saturday night.
"There's no going back to Triple-A," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.
Buchholz was called up from Pawtucket on Saturday when teams were allowed to expand their 25-man rosters. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia helped preserve the no-hit bid with a sensational diving stop in the seventh inning.
The crowd stood through the entire ninth, cheering every pitch and taking pictures of the righty in his windup and as he paced around the mound.
He started the inning by striking out Brian Roberts on a 93 mph fastball. A groan rose from the stands when Corey Patterson hit a line drive to center with one out, but Coco Crisp easily moved over to catch it.
Buchholz started Nick Markakis with a ball, then went ahead 1-2 when the batter fouled one off with a check swing. The crowd grew even louder, the flashes were constant, and Buchholz threw a 77 mph curveball that Markakis watched go by.
Plate umpire Joe West hesitated, but catcher Jason Varitek rose from his crouch to run to the mound. The rest of the Red Sox soon joined him there, and David Ortiz enveloped the rookie in a bear hug.
"He's somebody you don't want to see running at you, full-speed," Buchholz said.
No one stopped cheering until Buchholz appeared on the scoreboard for a television interview, and the fans hushed to try to hear him. But when "Clay Buchholz, No-hitter" appeared on the message board, the ballpark erupted anew.
Read the full article here. |
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