Clay Buchholz's No-Hitter

TLM and I got a very pleasant surprise Friday night (as did all of Red Sox Nation) as Clay Buchholz punched through 3 rotations of the Baltimore Orioles lineup without letting up a hit. That's right...in his second major league start ever (and TLM and I were lucky enough to be at the first), the kid threw a no-hitter.

Buchholz struck out 9 and walked 3 to became the 16th Red Sox player to officially throw a no-hitter, and the first rookie to do so (though I think one could make a case for Devern Hansack in 2006). The closest thing to a jam came in the 5th when he led off the inning with back to back walks to Millar and Huff, then got Moore to strike out swinging, House to ground into a fielder's choice, then Payton to fly out to right, stranding Millar at 3rd. At this point both TLM and I noted the lack of hits on the part of Buchholz, and the excitement grew exponentially every inning from then on.


Though some people were leaving their seats as late as the 8th inning (???) it seemed as though everyone there knew what was happening. The feeling in the stands was electric and the most intense I've experienced since 2004. Somewhere during the 9th there was a low-pitch roar that, though almost inaudible, hurt the ears of everyone in our section. At one point a few melonheads in short right field tried to start a "Yankees Suck" chant and were immediately silenced by everyone within earshot, testament to the collective understanding of the importance of what was taking place.

Go Buchholz. Now all we have to do is wait for the Red Sox management to replace the guy in favor of Julian Tavarez...