Just give up already – you’re not going to no-hit us!

Last month after Pedroia broke up Lackey’s no-hitter in the 9^th, a buddy of mine called me.  I told him that I felt spoiled as a Red Sox fan.  There have been four no hitters in our life time, while most people go years and years and years and are lucky to see just one.  So maybe it’s a little pompous for me to start off with that title.  (But in my defense, I have yet to see ANY of these no-hitters, which drives me crazy every time I miss another one). 

Last night, not only did John Danks have a no hitter going, but the guy had a perfect game going.  I can’t say I’ve ever watched a perfect game go that long in a ball game.  If he had made it to the 9^th, I probably would have cheered him on, seeing as no-hitters are a rare accomplishment for pitchers (unless your name is Nolan Ryan.)  But last night we needed a win – and we got one.

What would we do without Josh Beckett?  I’ll tell you one thing – we sure wouldn’t have gone 8 innings seeing the White Sox get 7 hits, 1 run, and 8 strikeouts, not to mention zero walks.  He really had his stuff last night, and it showed.  It’s too bad because Danks really deserved a win last night with his outing (7+ IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K).  But that’s way it goes sometimes.  Last month Beckett had a very similar start to last night’s game, where he went 8 innings giving up only a run.  But he was beat by Joba Chamberlain, who didn’t give up any runs. 

As for the offensive part of the night, I was a little worried when lefty JD Drew came up to bat in the 7^th.  But he got his pitch and drilled it into the gap.  It was one of those hits where you just smile watching it drop into the gap, knowing that it’s going to be runs and extra bases.  God I love seeing that. 

And then in the 9^th Jed Lowrie came through again in the ninth, adding a pair or insurance runs.  The more this guy hits, the worse it looks for Julio Lugo.  I think we all agree on that point.  Just like we should agree that Ellsbury is finally heating up again.  He went 2-3 last night, driving in an extra insurance run in the 9^th. 

With Charlie Zink making his major league debut tonight, it was great to have that win to bring us back to Fenway Park.  I’m very excited to see what Zink can do for us tonight.

Keep the faith.

Post game notes:

-David Ortiz:  Ortiz was given the night off to rest his wrist.  Expect to see him back in the lineup tonight. 

-Clay Buchholz:  The soon to be 24 year old met with Francona, Farrell, and a few others yesterday afternoon.  They told him that they haven’t counted him out yet.  I think it’s great that they’re doing so much to boost his confidence, but let’s be reasonable here.  If Bartolo Colon was ready, he’d be making the next start.  That being said, I hope more than anything that Buchholz can get back on track.