» Rookie Throws No-Hitter in 2nd MLB Start

Rookie Throws No-Hitter in 2nd MLB Start

Move over Dice-K. Make room for 23 year old rookie Clay Buchholz who just pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox on Saturday, in only his 2nd Big League start as the BoSox pounded the Baltimore Orioles by a 10-0 score.

The hapless Baltimore Orioles have earned some dubious distinctions lately. Ten days ago, the Texas Rangers decimated them in a 30-3 humiliation. Now, a rookie pitcher, with only one other major league start under his belt uncorked a no-hitter against them.

In the 1st inning with two outs, Buchholz hit Nick Markakis with a pitch. Then he went on to retire the next 10 hitters in a row before issuing walks to the first 2 Oriole hitters in the fifth inning and then retiring the side.

Then in the 6th inning, after walking the lead-off hitter and then picking him off of 1st base, Buchholz retired the final 11 hitters he faced in the game. The rookie walked 3 while striking out 9 with a three-pitch assortment of fastballs, curves and changeups. The no-hitter was his 2nd Major League win.

AP Sports Writer Howard Ulman recaps the game and gives more background on the rarity of Buchholz’s performance for Yahoo sports;

Buchholz was called up from Pawtucket on Saturday when teams were allowed to expand their 25-man rosters.

Buchholz, who turned 23 on Aug. 14, pitched the third no-hitter of the season — following Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox against Texas on April 18 and Justin Verlander of Detroit against Milwaukee on June 12. It’s the first time there have been three no-hitters in a season since 2001.

Buchholz (2-0) became the 21st rookie to throw a no-hitter since 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous one to do it was Florida’s Anibal Sanchez, a former Red Sox prospect traded for Josh Beckett and [Mike] Lowell, against Arizona last Sept. 6.

The Boston newcomer became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start, Elias said. Bobo Hollomon did it in his first start in 1953 for the St. Louis Browns, and Wilson Alvarez did it in his second in 1991 for the Chicago White Sox.

Baltimore nearly got a hit in the sixth. Leadoff hitter [Brian] Roberts walked but was picked off by Buchholz. [Cory] Patterson hit a medium liner to left-center. [Coco] Crisp got an outstanding jump and made a running, backhanded catch.

[Plate umpire Joe] West, working his first no-hitter behind the plate of a big league career that began in 1976, gave [Jason] Varitek a lot of credit.

“He worked the kid all night, making him change speeds and everything,” West said. “He didn’t blow them away because they were hitting the ball, but he changed speeds. It wasn’t like a 15- or 16-strikeout game.”

The closest the Orioles came to a hit was when Miguel Tejada started the seventh with a sharp grounder up the middle. [Dustin] Pedroia raced to his right and dove. He backhanded the ball, stood up and fired to first, where the throw beat Tejada, who slid in headfirst.

“I jumped up as fast as I could and I threw it as hard as I could,” Pedroia said.

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.