Inside Baseball

Lowe-Hitters  

In a weekend of near no-hitters only Boston's Derek Lowe finished the job

By Stephen Cannella

After Pedro Martinez held the Orioles hitless for 5 2/3 innings last Thursday and ended up allowing a single over seven, he offered his take on pitching a no-no. "I'm an experienced guy, and I know the day a no-hitter comes, it will just happen," he said. "I'm not going to go look for it."

Lowe struck out six and upped his record to 4-1 in pitching the first no-hitter in Fenway Park in 37 years. Neal Hamberg/AP

If it was hard to believe then that the incomparable Martinez didn't have one on his résumé (the nine perfect innings he fired at the Padres in 1995 don't count because he allowed a double in the 10th), it seemed preposterous after a weekend during which no-hit bids were as ubiquitous as low-slung jeans at a Christina Aguilera concert.

On Saturday righthander Derek Lowe, making just his eighth start for the Red Sox since losing his job as closer last September, allowed the Devil Rays only a third-inning walk for the first no-hitter at Fenway Park since Dave Morehead stymied the Indians in 1965. "I knew it was going to be a long day, because he had unbelievable movement on his sinker," said Tampa Bay second baseman Brent Abernathy, who drew the walk.

It wasn't the only Lowe-hit game in a weekend series. On Friday, Dodgers lefthander Odalis Perez came within a bad-hop, seventh-inning infield single of throwing a perfect game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. That night, at Shea Stadium, Mets lefthander Shawn Estes set down the first 18 Brewers he faced before giving up a leadoff single in the seventh. On Saturday afternoon Estes's teammate, righthander Pedro Astacio, teased New York fans -- no Met had pitched a no-hitter in the franchise's 6,367-game history through Sunday -- by not allowing a hit until there was one out in the seventh. And that night in Seattle, Yankees lefthander Ted Lilly came within five outs of making April 27, 2002, the second day in major league history with two no-hitters; the only base hit was an RBI single by Desi Relaford in the eighth inning.

What gives? Astrology, for one thing. No day has had more no-hitters than April 27 (five). There's also the overall downturn in offensive output. In April 2000 the major league average was 18.63 hits per game; last April the rate dropped to 17.74, and through Sunday it had fallen to 17.56.

It also helps to be facing a bad-hitting team. The Devil Rays' .242 batting average was the third lowest in the American League, and no team in the majors had less punch on the road (.195). The Brewers finished the weekend with the lowest team average (.235) in the majors. The Cubs' .240 mark was the NL's third worst.

The opponent might not have mattered to Lowe, who also pitched seven hitless innings against the Orioles in his first start of this season, on April 5. Since returning to the starter's role he relinquished four years ago, he has been electric in going 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA. Known for his heavy sinker and a sharp breaking ball, Lowe has reintroduced a changeup that he shelved upon moving to the bullpen. That's what he threw to get the Devil Rays' final out, a weak grounder to second. "The speed variations were the difference," said Tampa Bay manager Hal McRae. "He'd throw a slider, throw another slider, then throw a changeup. He kept guys off-balance."

Issue date: May 6, 2002

For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, May 1. Click here to subscribe to SI.

 

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