Clay Bucholz becomes first Red Sox Rookie to throw a No Hitter

Hours After Getting Called up to The Show, Clay Bucholz showed Fenway Park a Magical Night.

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 Saturday night. He struck out nine, walked three and hit one batter before the 371st straight sellout crowd at Fenway Park.
The crowd stood through the entire ninth inning, cheering every pitch and taking pictures of the young righty in his windup and as he paced around the mound between pitches. 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 2-1 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.

Home 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.

No one stopped cheering until Buchholz appeared on the centerfield 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.

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.

Buchholz became the 17th rookie to throw a no-hitter. The last one to do it was Florida's Anibal Sanchez 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, 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.

Buchholtz nailed down his no-hitter a night after Scott Baker of the Twins came within three outs of a perfect game and two outs of a no-hitter against Kansas City.

I watched the final out of the No Hitter on ESPN. They had cut out of College Football to show the final out, and that backdoor curveball was the pitch that sealed the no hitter for Clay Bucholz. Simply a sensational job by the kid in his second Major League Start. Joe Castiglione on Red Sox Television said "He has been changing his pitches all day long. That's why he been unhittable." What a thrill for Clay Bucholz. This is a night he will remember for the rest of his life.