NESN airing most memorable Red Sox gems
Next week’s Red Sox programming on NESN is set up for those fans who love a gem above all else. And in a change of pace, these beauties are all from pitchers not named Pedro Martinez or Roger Clemens.
From Monday through Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. ET, you will see Boston pitchers at the very top of their game in performances that are sure to jog your memory.
The fun starts on Monday, when Josh Beckett’s one-hit shutout at Tropicana Field from June 15, 2011, is aired. There’s a strong chance you missed watching this game live, because it was played at the same time the Bruins were in Vancouver winning their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Hideo Nomo would pitch just one season for the Red Sox, but it included one very memorable game. On Tuesday, NESN flashes back to April 4, 2001, when Nomo fired a no-no at Camden Yards in the second game of the season. It was the first no-hitter by a Red Sox pitcher since Dave Morehead in 1965.
On Wednesday, NESN brings you a game that was agonizingly close to being the only no-hitter of Curt Schilling’s career. But the big righty shook off catcher Jason Varitek with two outs in the ninth inning and gave up a single to Shannon Stewart in a game that was played on June 7, 2007, at Oakland. Schilling finished with a one-hitter in what proved to be his final MLB season.
Perhaps the most epic no-hitter in Red Sox history was the one that NESN is showing on Thursday. That would be Clay Buchholz firing a no-no at the Orioles in his second Major League start on an electric Saturday night at Fenway. The game was played on Sept. 1, 2007, less than two months before the Red Sox would win the World Series for the second time in four seasons.
If you’re looking for the most feel-good no-hitter in Red Sox history, NESN has that one on tap for you on May 22. Jon Lester, who had returned from battling cancer the season before, fired his no-hitter against the Royals. That game was played on May 19, 2008, and no Red Sox pitcher has thrown a no-no since.
The week of pitching brilliance concludes on Saturday with Rick Porcello firing a complete-game one-hitter vs. the Yankees on just 86 pitches in a game that was played on Aug. 3, 2018.