Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter in his second major league start, just hours after being called up by the Boston Red Sox.
The lanky Texan baffled Baltimore with an assortment of curves, changeups and fastballs in the Red Sox's 10-0 victory on Saturday. He struck out nine, walked three and hit one batter before the 371st straight sellout crowd at Fenway Park.
The crowd stood through the ninth inning, a groan rising from the stands when Corey Patterson hit a line drive to center with one out. But Coco Crisp easily moved over to catch it.
PHOTO: AP
Buchholz started Nick Markakis with a ball, then went ahead 1-2 when the batter fouled one off with a check swing. Then Buchholz threw a 124kph curveball that Markakis watched go by for the game's final out.
Buchholz, who turned 23 on Aug. 14, pitched the third no-hitter of this season following those by Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox against Texas on April 18 and Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers against Milwaukee on June 12.
Buchholz became just the 21st rookie to throw a no-hitter and the first since Florida's Anibal Sanchez against Arizona last September. He also became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start.
Yankees 9, Devil Rays 6
At New York, Alex Rodriguez homered and drove in four runs to back Ian Kennedy's impressive major league debut as New York rolled to a win over Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay had Rodriguez's bat confiscated in a classic case of gamesmanship one inning after umpires took away Akinori Iwamura's unusual model following a request from Yankees manager Joe Torre.
Kennedy (1-0) allowed one earned run in seven innings, helping New York extend its wild-card lead to two games over Seattle. Pitching in place of struggling Mike Mussina, the 22-year-old right-hander gave up five hits, struck out six and walked two.
Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 45th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot off Edwin Jackson (4-13). The two-time MVP added a two-run double in the fourth.
Blue Jays 2, Mariners 1
At Toronto, Troy Glaus singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as Toronto sent Seattle to its season-high eighth straight loss.
Dustin McGowan (9-8) won for the first time in five starts. He allowed one run and six hits in eight innings and had a walk and three strikeouts.
The Blue Jays cost themselves a chance to score in the second when Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill batted out of order. Overbay led off the second with a fly out before Hill doubled to short left. Mariners manager John McLaren came out with his lineup card, on which Hill preceded Overbay and, after the umpires huddled to discuss the situation, Hill was called out.
Rangers 7, Angels 6
At Anaheim, California, Marlon Byrd broke out of a rut with three hits including a solo homer and David Murphy and Brad Wilkerson hit two-run doubles as Texas edged Los Angeles.
Los Angeles remained six-and-a-half games ahead of the Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
Edinson Volquez (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma to make his season debut, allowed three runs and seven hits over five innings after getting staked to a 6-1 lead.
Kelvim Escobar (15-7) lasted only two-and-two-thirds innings in his second-shortest outing of the season. He struck out six, but gave up five runs, six hits and four walks.
Tigers 6, Athletics 1
At Oakland, California, Justin Verlander struck out 10 and outpitched Dan Haren and Curtis Granderson homered, doubled and scored three runs to lead Detroit past Oakland.
Detroit tagged Haren (14-6) for 11 hits, the most he has given up this year, and Verlander's big day helped the Tigers hold ground in their chase for the AL Central and wild card.
Granderson went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Magglio Ordonez and Ryan Raburn each doubled in runs for the Tigers, who had lost three of four and started the day a season-high five-and-a-half games behind the first-place Indians. They stayed three games behind the wild card-leading Yankees.
Indians 7, White Sox 0
At Cleveland, Paul Byrd pitched a four-hit shutout, leading Cleveland past Chicago for its eighth straight win.
Byrd (14-5) has won his last four starts and seven of his last eight decisions.
Casey Blake and Travis Hafner drove in two runs apiece while Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach homered, helping Cleveland maintain its five-and-a-half-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. The winning streak is the Indians' longest since they won nine straight in 2005. Cleveland is also a season-high 21 games over .500 (78-57).
The slumping White Sox, who blew a 5-0 lead on Friday night, have lost five in a row and 10 of 11.
Twins 6, Royals 4
At Minneapolis, Mike Redmond hit a two-run double and Carlos Silva pitched six effective innings as Minnesota downed Kansas City.
Silva (11-13) was hit hard in a two-run fourth, but he survived and struck out four while giving up eight hits and three runs without a walk.
Redmond capped a four-run rally by the Twins in the fifth inning against Brandon Duckworth, who came off the disabled list to start for the Royals.
Joe Nathan got the last four outs for his 29th save.
Duckworth (2-4) surrendered eight hits, six runs and two walks in four innings. He struck out two and hit one batter.
The San Diego Padres maintained their slight edge in the National League West with a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Pitcher Jake Peavy (16-5) gave up two hits and struck out nine to lower his Major League best ERA to 2.10, helping the Padres keep a one-percentage-point lead over Arizona in the West.
Mike Cameron hit a grand slam, the fifth of his career, off losing pitcher Derek Lowe (11-12) in a six-run fifth inning.
San Diego has won nine of its last 11 games, including the first two of a three-game series with the Dodgers. Los Angeles is now five games out in both the division and wildcard races.
The 16 wins are a career high for Peavy.
Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 7
The Arizona Diamondbacks won at home over the Colorado Rockies as Arizona's Tony Clark hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs.
Cubs 4, Astros 3
The Chicago Cubs maintained their game-and-a-half lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the Central with a home victory over the Houston Astros.
Mets 5, Braves 1
The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves for the second consecutive day as rookie Mike Pelfrey's first win in eight decisions this season led to a 5-1 road win. The Mets increased their lead in the East to three games over Philadelphia.
The Mets announced three-times Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez would return from a season-long absence caused by shoulder surgery to pitch today in Cincinnati.
Cardinals 11, Reds 3
The St. Louis Cardinals remained two games behind the Cubs in the Central with an 11-3 win over visiting Cincinnati, Adam Wainwright winning his 13th game.
A day after hitting his first career grand slam, pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel drove in three runs.
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