Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
White Sox starter takes no-hitter into seventh in a 4-0 win over the Rays.
By KEVIN KELLY
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 4, 2001
CHICAGO -- Like a perfect game, it began with three straight outs.
Then six, nine, 12 ...
By the sixth inning of Chicago's 4-0 win Friday against Tampa Bay at Comiskey Park, Mark Buehrle had 19,330 fans believing they were holding tickets they might never throw away.
Buehrle's bid for perfection ended when he hit Rays first baseman Steve Cox, the first batter in the sixth, on the back of the helmet. His no-hitter ended an inning later when Damian Rolls singled to right.
"I thought it was a fastball," Cox said afterward. "But it might've been a breaking ball."
But that did not diminish the beauty of Chicago's first complete-game one-hitter in more than nine seasons. The 22-year-old simply had the Rays befuddled from the start.
"From about the third or fourth inning, I noticed that I wasn't getting too long of a break while I was sitting down," Tampa Bay starting pitcher Nick Bierbrodt said. "We weren't hitting the ball very hard. He was just making the pitches."
Added manager Hal McRae: "He pitched as fine a game as I've seen this year."
Buehrle (9-6) did get some help.
Of the two two-run home runs the White Sox hit off Bierbrodt (0-1), one was by former Rays slugger Jose Canseco. Of the handful of spectacular catches made by the White Sox, none was more impressive than centerfielder Aaron Rowand's in the fourth.
"We will be watching some film to show guys how important it is to keep the defense ready to play," Chicago manager Jerry Manuel said.
Rays designated hitter Ben Grieve hit a deep fly ball in the right-centerfield gap with two outs in the fourth. Rowand sprinted toward the ball and caught it at full speed before slamming into the outfield fence, the impact sending Rowand tumbling onto his back.
"By no means was I trying to overpower them tonight," said Buehrle, who struck out three. "It was the defense that made unbelievable plays ... and if they didn't, it could have been ugly early."
Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when first baseman Paul Konerko hit an 0-and-1 pitch from Bierbrodt over the fence in left.
Rightfielder Magglio Ordonez tripled off the centerfield wall to lead off the sixth and scored on Canseco's 404-foot homer to right-centerfield, making it 4-0. It was Canseco's 455th career homer and ninth of the season.
"I was throwing the ball okay," said Bierbrodt, who lasted six innings and struck out seven. "But I got a few balls up."
Rolls broke up Buehrle's no-hitter in the seventh when he hit a leadoff single to rightfield, ending an 11-inning drought in which the Rays managed one hit.
Jason Tyner bunted his way on in the eighth inning against Baltimore on Thursday.
"I don't think it was carryover (from Baltimore)," McRae said. "Tip your hat to the opposing pitcher. When you say anything other than that, you're sort of making excuses for your loss, and we don't plan to do that."
Buehrle's six no-hit innings weren't the closest the Rays have come to being no-hit. Boston's Pedro Martinez held Tampa Bay hitless through eight innings Aug. 29, 2000, and his teammate, Tim Wakefield, did the same June 19.
"I'm surprised I had it going that long," he said. "I'd like to have a no-hitter, or a perfect game if I didn't hit a guy. Hopefully I will have a long career and I can do it."
McRae also was impressed with Bierbrodt, who was making his second start since being acquired from Arizona on July 25. The left-hander has pitched 12 innings and allowed five runs since being acquired.
"He pitched well enough, most nights, to have us right in the ballgame," McRae said.
Jason Standridge relieved Bierbrodt before the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and walked three.
"If I wasn't pitching, you'd like to see it (a performance like Buehrle's) because that's your craft," Bierbrodt said. "But you don't like to see it done against you."