April 27th: Derek’s No-No
Red Sox 10 – Devil Rays 0
The biggest surprise of the 2002 season was the emergence of Derek Lowe. After arriving from the Mariners with Jason Varitek in one of the most lopsided seasons in franchise history, Lowe spent his first two and a half years in Boston as an improving if unspectacular reliever.
He won the closer’s role in the 2000 season and excelled, making the All-Star team and leading the league with 42 saves. His success was short-lived, however, as he lost his job after blowing six of his 30 save opportunities the following season.
Continuing his rollercoaster career, Lowe was moved to the starting rotation for the 2002 season. He got off to a hot start in April, winning three of his four starts with a 2.73 ERA. Yet even with his early success, nobody could have predicted what would happen on April 27, when Lowe allowed just one baserunner en route to no-hitting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Lowe retired the side in order in just nine pitches in the first inning before Ricky Henderson gave him all the support he would need with a leadoff homer. Lowe got three straight-grounders in the second inning before Brett Abernathy led off the third with a walk. Lowe, an elite sinkerballer, got three more grounders to erase Abernathy, and the Red Sox broke the game wide open with six runs in the bottom half.
With the game now out of reach, Lowe was now free to focus on his pursuit of history. He threw a combined 22 pitches over the next two innings before striking out the side in the sixth inning. Lowe didn’t truly face any resistance until the ninth when the Devil Rays came awfully close to ending the no-hit bid.
With one out in the inning, Felix Esoclona made one of the best swings by a Rays batter all day, driving a ball into the left-center gap. Centerfielder Ricky Henderson, then 43 years old and in the last year of his career, still had enough speed to run down the ball and catch it in full stride. The final out was not nearly as stressful, as Jason Tyner hit a routine ground ball to second baseman Rey Sanchez to complete the no-hitter.
Lowe’s no-no was just the start of an incredible season. He would go on to win 21 games, post a career-low 2.58 ERA, start the All-Star Game, and finish third in the AL Cy Young voting. The Devil Rays, meanwhile, were not done being tormented by the Red Sox.