Duchscherer Almost Pitched A No-Hitter
Justin Duchscherer insisted all season long that he belongs in the starting rotation.
Despite spending most of his six years in the Majors as a relief pitcher, he knows he has what it takes to start.
And despite spending the most of last season and part of this season on the disabled list, he knows he has the ability to start.
After Saturday’s showing, everyone else should know.
The pitcher carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing a one-out single to David Ortiz. That helped to give Oakland to a 3-0 shutout in front of almost 34,000 on Saturday night at McAfee Coliseum. Oakland A’s merchandise was seen waving furiously over a good deal of the stadium—something that doesn’t happen too often.
Duchscherer said he first started thinking about the history books after the fifth inning, but it wasn’t until the sixth when he really considered it a possibility. He retired the first 15 batters he faced, but opened the sixth by hitting Jason Varitek with a pitch.
The right-hander’s gem was backed by a three-run, nine-hit offensive effort highlighted by Ryan Sweeney’s solo home run in the seventh.
Beckett threw what would normally be an impressive game, limiting the A’s to two runs on seven hits and no walks with nine strikeouts through seven innings.