Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz pitched a no-hitter on Saturday night in just his second career major league start.
Buchholz struck out Baltimore's Nick Markakis, his ninth strikeout, to end the game in a 10-0 Boston rout at Fenway Park.
"I sort of tried to zone everything out, but it was sort of hard with 40,000 people screaming," Buchholz said. "I'm in a blur right now."
The Nedarland, Tex., native had previously pitched for Boston on Aug. 17, winning against the Texas Rangers. He began the season in double-A Portland.
Buchholz, 23, becomes the 17th man in franchise history to toss a no-hitter and the first since Derek Lowe in 2002.
Earlier this season, Boston's Curt Schilling was one out from a no-hitter against Oakland.
After hitting Markakis with a pitch in the first, Buchholz retired the next 10 batters before walking the first two men up in the fifth.
The right-hander settled down to strike out Scott Moore and induce outs from J.R. House and Jay Payton.
Dustin Pedroia helped his pitcher's cause in the seventh. The Red Sox second baseman dove to his right to prevent a sharp grounder from reaching centre field and then wheeled around and threw to get Miguel Tejada out at first.
"I mean that was the turn of the game for me, to see him make that play and throwing him out at first," Buchholz said.
Buchholz was never threatened in the ninth, finishing his 115-pitch gem with just three walks.
The Boston newcomer became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Bobo Hollomon did it in his first start on May 6, 1953, for the St. Louis Browns at home against the Philadelphia A's, and Wilson Alvarez did it in his second start on Aug. 11, 1991, for the Chicago White Sox at Baltimore.
Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run home run and David Ortiz cleared the bases with a double as the Red Sox pounded out 14 hits in front of the 371st consecutive sellout crowd at Fenway.
Buchholz's feat comes one night after Minnesota's Scott Baker entered the ninth inning riding with a perfect game. Baker finished the night yielding a hit and a walk apiece in the 5-0 shutout over the Kansas City Royals.
This season's previous no-hitters were Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox, against Texas on April 18,and Justin Verlander of Detroit, against Milwaukee on June 12.
After their series with the Orioles, Boston will host the Toronto Blue Jays for three games, beginning on Monday.
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Contact Us About Us HomeTuesday, January 6th, 2009