Most of you probably remember Mark Buehrle’s perfect game from Friday, which was probably pretty boring through the first few innings, but anyway…Last night Buehrle picked up where he left off, retiring the first 17 batters he faced before coughing up five runs to the Minnesota Twins and picking up a loss.
The Twins scored all five of their runs in Buehrle’s final two-thirds of an inning to pick up their third straight victory and move into a tie with the White Sox for second place in the American League Central, two games back of the division-leading Tigers.
“We’ve faced this guy so many times and we’ve watched him pitch so many times,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It’s a race track out there, and all we were saying in the dugout is, ‘Slow down. You’ve got to slow him down a little bit, because once he gets on a roll like that, he can mow right through you.’” via.
On the bright side, Buehrle just saved himself 25 bottles’ worth of Crown Royal XR. It’s tough to throw a no-hitter in a ballpark that uses two-ply Hefty bags for its outfield walls. Actually, I don’t know if that’s true. I just felt like taking a little dig at the Metrodome. The Twins’ win puts them in a second-place tie with the Sox. And then this is when some guy driving a Camaro drives up and screams, “Second place is the first loser!” That’s nice, Camaro guy. Now pull out your abacus so I can calculate which loser you are. Oh, you don’t have an abacus? Then I guess these empty cans of PBR in your passenger seat will do.
White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle faced 27 batters this afternoon and retired all of them. Buehrle threw the second no-hitter of his career against the Rays, winning today in Chicago, 5-0. The perfect game was saved in the ninth when Gabe Kapler led off with a deep drive to left-center, forcing Dewayne Wise to make a leaping catch to preserve the game for Buehrle and rob Kapler of a home run.
Video’s after the jump. If it doesn’t give you goosebumps, then I’m not sure we could be friends anymore. Read the rest of this entry »
I asked With Leather's assistant editor, KD, a lifelong White Sox fan, to weigh in on Mark Buerhle's no-hitter last night. Here's his take. -MU
In case you were wondering, the Chicago PD District 9 'Deering' Headquarters at 3501 S. Lowe has wi-fi, and that allows your faithful Assistant Editor to comment on the glorious happenings at Comiskey II last evening. Mark Buerhle, the left-handed mainstay of the White Sox pitching staff, threw a no-no last night against Ron Washington's powerful Texas Rangers. Anibal Sanchez tossed the last MLB no-hitter last September 6th against the D-Backs, and the last Pale Hose feat was thrown by Wilson Alvarez on 8/11/91 at Baltimore. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago and thus am a Sox fan, so I'm slightly exuberant this fine morning. If you're an angry Rangers fan, a spiteful Cubs follower, or an indifferent devotee of another MLB nine, take comfort in the fact that I will be charged with public drunkenness later (How is that a crime? They always tell you not to drink by yourself, but you get thrown into the hoosegow when you're soused in public? What is this Catch-22?). If you don't know Sox fans, great events could have always been better for them. Could Buehrle's magic have been better last night? Well, yes.
Buehrle faced the minimum number of batters, but could not get the Perfecto. Why? He walked Sammy Sosa in the fifth, but then picked him off first base:
"I told him I couldn't believe he walked Sammy but he picked him off," [White Sox catcher A.J.] Pierzynski said. "Doesn't it count still?"
Ha, that Pierzynski is always looking for loophole. From dropped third strikes to (im)perfect games, he's a funny guy. Anyway, Sox fans hate Sosa for all the obvious reasons, but also for the fact that the South Siders traded him to their Wrigley rivals for his fellow San Pedro de Macorisan George Bell. Mr. Bell had a good '92 for the Sox, but, as I'm sure you're aware unless you were in the Mir Space Station, Slammin' Sammy had a good decade. Senor Sosa had 28 homers for the White Sox, and he had, let's see . . . adding with my blood, they won't give a pencil . . . still adding . . . 545 with the Boys in Blue. Wow, I feel a tad woozy. You can see how the memory of that trade is a tiny bit bothersome to a Sox fan. And now he breaks up Buehrle's Perfect Game bid by not striking out as usual. I would deface his HOF plaque (if his swollen face makes it), but I suppose that's against the law too.
Another former Cubbie tried to break up the no-no when Jerry Hairston Jr. slid head-first into first base in an attempt to beat the throw from third baseman Joe Crede in the third inning. I haven't played organized baseball since the curveball washed me out of the Pony Leagues, but don't they always say never to slide into first base? Moron. He was ejected for arguing the call at the beginning of the next inning. Serves you right Junior, your dear old dad was a class act, and you could learn a thing or two from him. Speaking of which, Mark didn't do this himself. He had some great defensive plays behind him, notably Crede and Juan Uribe (he's got a gun). Also, major props to home plate umpire Eric Cooper who called a great game. Drinks are on me fellas, if you would be so kind as to bail me out of here. I have to go now, they're preparing the fire hose for my "shower". -KD
