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Buehrle records 16th no-hitter in White Sox history

Apr 19, 2007 - 5:48 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Mark Buehrle struggled through the worst season of his career in 2006. It looks like he's back on track in 2007.

Buehrle pitched the 16th no-hitter in franchise history as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 6-0.

It was the first no-hitter by a Chicago White Sox pitcher since lefthander Wilson Alvarez accomplished the feat against the Baltimore Orioles on August 11, 1991. It also was the the first by a White Sox pitcher in Chicago since Joel Horlen accomplished the feat on September 10, 1967 against Detroit .

"In the fifth inning, I went to (Jim) Thome and said, 'You know I got a no hitter going?' Buehrle said. "People were trying not to jinx it, and I was trying to jinx it myself."

Buehrle (1-0) made the All-Star game last season before going 3-7 in the second half with a 6.44 ERA to finish 12-13 - his first losing season in seven years. He was removed in the second inning of his first start in 2007 after being struck with a line drive and yielded three runs and four hits over seven innings April 11 at Oakland.

"The way he started and pitched last year, this is a big lift for him to have confidence in how good he really is," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We all believe in this kid."

In the ninth inning against Texas, Buehrle struck out Matt Kata and Nelson Cruz before getting Gerald Laird on a groundout to third base, setting off a jubilant celebration in the middle of the diamond.

"From the sixth or seventh inning on, I think (the fans) kind of realized what was going on," Buehrle. "I kind of wanted to tell them to sit down and quit making me nervous, and just wait until that last out gets there."

The only Texas baserunner was Sammy Sosa, who drew a walk in the fifth inning but was picked off by Buehrle. The lefthander finished with eight strikeouts.

Buehrle got some defensive support from third baseman Joe Crede, who made a spectacular diving stop on Jerry Hairston's hard grounder in the top of the second inning. Crede got to his feet and threw out Hairston, who dove head-first into first base and was ejected minutes later for arguing the close play.

"I just think we didn't send much at him tonight," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He kept the ball down. We weren't able to center anything. You have to give Buehrle credit. He was tough."

Chicago shortstop Juan Uribe stole a hit from Ian Kinsler in the seventh inning, ranging far to his right and making a strong throw to first.

"I need my defense behind me," Buehrle said. "I put the ball in play and I'm not going to strike out a bunch of guys. They made plays behind me, and my hat's off to them."

The no-hitter is the first in the majors since Florida rookie Anibal Sanchez beat Arizona, 2-0, on September 6, 2006.

The last American League no-hitter was by Boston 's Derek Lowe on April 27, 2002 against Tampa Bay .

Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye provided all the run support Buehrle needed. Thome hit a pair of solo homers, one in the third off Rangers starter Kevin Millwood (2-2) and his fifth in the seventh off Joaquin Benoit to cap the scoring. Dye clubbed a grand slam in the fifth off Millwood for his third homer of the season.

"The big thing was Jermaine gave us the five-run lead, and we had already blown the perfect game," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "So, you could try a little more, because if you walked the guy, it didn't mean as much. It gave us a little more freedom with the perfect game already gone and the no-hitter on the line to try to mess around with guys a little bit more."

Millwood allowed five runs and five hits in five innings.