ChiSox's Buehrle pitches no-hitter against Texas
CHICAGO — Mark Buehrle is honest with his opinions, popular with his teammates and as quick with his humor as he is with a pitch.
It's no surprise that Buehrle was joking around Wednesday night while pitching a game he'll always remember — a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers that missed being perfect by a fifth-inning walk to Sammy Sosa.
Bucking baseball tradition, Buehrle didn't avoid his teammates and they couldn't stay away from him, either. That's because he made sure to tell them what was happening.
"You know I got a no-hitter going," Buehrle told a couple of White Sox teammates in the dugout nearly halfway through the game.
He relaxed between innings by retiring to the clubhouse, watching TV and chatting with catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
But with three outs to go Wednesday night and the crowd in an uproar, Buehrle's cool was hard to maintain.
"You don't want to make that one mistake and give up a hit," he said. "I could feel my knees a little bit, a little shaken, a little extra adrenaline going for the ninth inning."
Buehrle faced the minimum 27 batters in a 6-0 victory over the Rangers, picking Sosa off first right after walking him.
"I told him I couldn't believe he walked Sammy but he picked him off," Pierzynski said. "Doesn't it count still?"
Buehrle struck out Matt Kata and Nelson Cruz in the ninth before Gerald Laird hit a slow grounder to third base that Joe Crede picked up and threw to first. As Paul Konerko caught the ball, he pumped his fist, setting off a wild celebration.
"Obviously, never in a million years thought I'd be able to have this happen," Buehrle said.
Buehrle was mobbed by teammates at the side of the mound. He got a big hug from manager Ozzie Guillen as he came off the field and then a beer shower from teammates."I told Mark right after the game I've been nervous, but never like that in the World Series or playoffs or whatever," Pierzynski said. "When he got to the ninth inning and two outs I was a lot more nervous than I was in the World Series. I don't want to say there was more on the line, but for a personal accomplishment that's about as good as it gets."On a chilly, 40-degree night, Buehrle threw 105 pitches and struck out eight in a game that took just 2 hours, 3 minutes. His previous low-hit game was a one-hitter against Tampa Bay on Aug. 3, 2001. It was the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history and first since Wilson Alvarez threw one at Baltimore on Aug. 11, 1991."I was part of one in high school," Buehrle said. "To get through a big league lineup three times, I never thought it would happen."It was the first no-hitter pitched against the Rangers since June 17, 1995, when Toronto's David Cone threw one in a 4-0 win.
